"Don't take this the wrong way, but this is actually good for our case." Quinn Perkins states from her spot standing next to Derek in his office at the FBI headquarters.
"How the hell is this good?"
"Matthew Trahkocl was the only friendly witness for William. If Annalise can't find him or get someone else to testify, she has to fight off all of ours with nothing else to prove."
"What about Mary Trahkocl?" Maggie quips.
"Refused to testify for either side," Quinn replies.
Derek is sitting in his chair behind his desk, Olivia sitting across from him. Jake leans against a table that Maggie and Ryan are sitting at, Vanessa on the couch.
"So the director wants us to find Matthew?" Olivia turns to Derek, changing the subject off of the case.
"Yes. We have no idea what he's going to do because we have no idea what William said to him." Derek groans.
"Is Meredith in danger?" Olivia asks the question that has been floating around in everyone's mind. Derek is quiet for a minute before responding.
"We don't know."
"What about us? Our significant others?" Ryan speaks up.
"We don't know," Derek repeats. For the next few minutes, it's mostly quiet, the entire team struggling to process the information they'd just received.
"We have to tell Meredith." Olivia glances at the team. When she gets nods in agreement, she leans back in her chair, staring at the ceiling. "I thought we were done with this fucked up family."
"We all did," Maggie whispers.
"Who's going to tell Meredith? You know how long it took to convince her to testify this week, she can't back out now, it's crucial to the case." Quinn jumps in.
"It should be me," Derek volunteers.
"Let Quinn and I go with you," Olivia offers. The team leader nods, standing and gathering his things, then turning to the remaining agents.
"The rest of you get to work here, I want to profile Matthew, try and figure out his next move. Talk to Mary again if we have to." He orders. The team nods, leaving the office to the connected conference room. Derek, Olivia, and Quinn pile into one car and begin the drive to Meredith's house.
Meredith walks out of Dr. Wyatt's office, back to the main lobby where Cristina and Alex should be. She takes the quieter halls, even if it's a longer route, her heart pounding every time someone gets too close. By the time she reaches her fellow surgeons, her hands are sweaty and she's a bit panicked.
Cristina recognizes the look instantly, quickly standing with Alex and guiding her out the door, back to their car. "How was it?" She asks when they're all settled.
Meredith shrugs, taking a couple of deep breaths to calm herself. Cristina picks up on her mood, realizing she doesn't want to talk. After knowing each other for as long as they have, the twisted sisters can read each other like books.
They reach the house, parking, and walking inside.
"Hello?" Alex calls out. Upon getting no answer, he looks around the main floor, finding no one. "It seems we have the house to ourselves."
Meredith takes off her shoes and jacket, leaving them by the door. "I'm gonna take a shower, I can finally wash this leg." She cracks, a tiny hint of a smile on her face before she turns and walks upstairs.
"Shit, I forgot to lock the car." Alex realizes, dashing back out of the house to his still-warm vehicle. A few seconds later, he comes back a tan envelope in his hands. Cristina is sitting in the living room, on her phone as Alex sits next to her. "Did you see this?"
She glances up, then returns back to her phone. "Yeah, figured it was just a package."
"Did you order anything?"
"No. Wait, you didn't?"
Alex shakes his head. "Maybe Jo did."
"What does it say?" Cristina reaches for the envelope, taking it from his hands and examining it. "Nothing?"
"Open it," Alex demands. Shakily, Cristina breaks the seal and dumps the contents of the envelope into her hand.
"What the hell is this?" She asks, picking up the white sheet of paper with a single black circle in the middle of it, which has three lines meeting directly in the center.
"I have no idea. Where's the FBI when you need them?" Alex snorts.
Cristina shakes her head, setting the envelope and paper on the coffee table and grabbing a remote instead. She flicks on the TV and after a few minutes of flipping through crappy channels, she decides to watch something else instead.
She gets up, digging through a drawer under the TV for a minute before pulling out a black DVD tape and waving it in front of her. "Want to watch a double valve replacement-repair on a ten-year-old?" She has a big smile on her face, making Alex chuckle.
"Surgery junkie," he accuses. Cristina laughs and pops the tape in, joining him back on the couch.
"You know you are too," she responds.
Not ten minutes into the procedure, there's a knock at the front door. Alex gets up and opens it, revealing Derek, Olivia, and Quinn on the porch. "Um, come in," he offers, allowing the three people inside.
"Ew, is that an actual heart?" Quinn exclaims when she walks into the living room, catching what's on TV.
"Yeah. Why are you all here?" Cristina asks, not taking her eyes off the screen, which Alex is already drawn back to.
"Where's Meredith?" Derek questions.
"In the shower."
"We need to talk." The agent says, moving to stand in front of the surgeons. At this, Cristina pauses the tape, worry flickering in her chest.
"Why? What happened? Does it have to do with the case?"
"Let's wait until Meredith-" Olivia starts, but completely stops her sentence when her gaze falls upon the white card and black circle shape sitting on the coffee table. "Where did you get this?" She demands, picking it up.
"It was in that envelope on the porch when we got home, why?" Cristina responds, confused. Olivia shows the card to Derek neither of them saying anything but their postures are rigid.
"What's going on in here?" Meredith's soft voice reaches them from the doorway. Her hair is wet, she's wearing leggings and an oversized sweater.
"You should come sit down," Olivia suggests softly. Meredith gives her a confused look, then joins her roommates on the couch.
"Okay, what the hell is happening right now?" Alex asks, his tone angry.
"We...we got word that Matthew Trahkcol escaped from police custody this morning." Derek begins.
"Matthew Trahkcol?" Cristina repeats the name, it sounds familiar but she's unable to place it.
"William Dunn's son. He was involved in the case, taunting us and giving us false leads..." Olivia elaborates.
The three people are silent, none of them sure how to react.
"This Matthew...he never touched me. I never saw anyone but William." Meredith confesses.
"Is he dangerous?" Alex interjects.
"We don't believe he's dangerous on his own, but when influenced by a man like William Dunn," Olivia swallows, "we don't know what he's capable of."
"What's the deal with that card?" Cristina joins in.
"This shape was taped on the inside of the evidence envelopes we got as taunts. It's the logo of a restaurant that got us to Matthew and eventually lead us to find Meredith." The female agent sits in an armchair, across from the surgeons.
"Oh god," Cristina gasps. "So this-this means he..." she trails off, disbelieving.
"He was here, and he's taunting us again." Derek finishes for her. Alex and Cristina are both in a state of shock, not able to move or speak. Derek's attention is drawn to Meredith, whose eyes have a glazed and far-off look to them. "Meredith?" He drawls softly.
She snaps back to reality, a storm of emotions brewing. She stands and starts towards the door. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I can't..." She defends, then leaves the room. The soft patter of feet going upstairs tells everyone that she's gone to her room.
Olivia and Derek share a glance with each other as Quinn also takes a seat, respectfully silent. Olivia doesn't look away from her boss, expecting him to go after Meredith but after a few minutes he's rooted to the same spot, Olivia realizes he's not going to, and gets up instead. Silently, she leaves the living room and goes upstairs, knocking lightly on the master bedroom door.
"What?" Meredith's voice cracks from inside. Olivia opens it and steps into the room, closing the door behind her. Meredith is sitting in the middle of her bed, wrapped in a blanket.
"You okay?"
Meredith snorts. "Not even the slightest."
"Yeah." Olivia agrees, moving to sit on the bed across from her.
"Is he after me?" The blonde asks, shakily meeting Olivia's gaze.
"We don't know. We don't know anything about him right now."
"But, that card. It's from him?"
"Yes. He knows we're here."
"You have no idea what he's planning?"
"We're building a profile right now but...Seattle PD let him speak to William Dunn unsupervised before he escaped, so we really don't know. If he were alone he's not the type of person who'd come after you, but when being manipulated by his father..." Olivia trails off, shrugging. She doesn't want to share the possibilities with the already terrified woman in front of her.
"Oh my god," Meredith closes her eyes and shakes her head, her voice breaking. She covers her face with her hands, struggling to keep her emotions at bay.
"You know it's okay to be upset and freaked out about this. You don't have to hide, especially not from me."
"I thought...I thought this was over. I thought we were past this. I-I-I don't know if I can do this again. I just can't."
"I know. I'm so sorry." The two women sit in silence for a minute before Meredith looks up at the bright blue eyes of the woman sitting across from her.
"Can I ask you something?" She requests timidly. Olivia hesitates for a moment, but nods. "Did you...um, were you in a relationship when you were..."
"Raped?" Olivia finishes and Meredith nods. "It took me a long time to be able to even say the word." She sighs, closing her eyes for a minute, being thrown back all those years ago. "No. My ex-girlfriend and I had broken up a few weeks before. I caught her cheating."
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"Why are you apologizing? She was a real asshole, and you have nothing to be sorry for."
Meredith shrugs. "I-I don't know what to do."
"About Derek?"
"Yeah. I mean, he's a great guy, and it painfully obvious he still loves me but..."
"You don't know if you still love him back?"
"Exactly."
Olivia studies Meredith for a long minute, her gaze soft as a small, comforting smile appears on her lips. "That's okay. Meredith, you don't have to know anything for sure. You need time, and everyone is more than willing to give it to you. As for me...I met Lindsey that year. Lindsey's my girlfriend, hopefully soon to be fiancee." Olivia smiles at the thought. "The first time she kissed me I wasn't even close to ready. I remember being in this...dark place for days after. We have a long love story, but you don't need to hear all that. My point is I wasn't ready to be in a relationship again for a long time. Derek's not going to up and leave you, he'll wait as long as you need. Help yourself first, that's the most important thing. Then, take things slow. Whatever makes you the most comfortable."
Meredith nods, her eyes wide as she absorbs the information Olivia is giving her. She drops her gaze and begins to pull at a string on her blanket. "A-and what about the first time you...you know, after?"
"The first time I had sex?" The agent smiles. "That went horribly. Again, I wasn't even close to ready. It was just some random girl I picked up about a year after, so it wasn't a big deal but as soon as she was on top of me and clothes were coming off I was directly into a flashback. Kicked her out, never saw her again. It took hours- days- for me to pull myself together after that."
"So...I should wait?"
Olivia laughs slightly. "I can't tell you when you're going to be ready to do the whole love thing again, but I can tell you that right now you're definitely not in any shape to be doing anything like that, no offense."
"None taken, it's pretty obvious. I'm kind of a disaster." Meredith smiles slightly.
"Bottom line, there's no rush. And who gives a crap about how much of a disaster you are? I mean, look around, in some ways, everyone is."
Meredith smiles, watching as Olivia stands up. "Thank you."
"Anytime. Are you going to be okay up here?"
"I think so."
Olivia nods, and walks out of the room, shutting the door behind her to leave Meredith alone with her thoughts.
Quick Question: I've had some ideas floating around my head for a while, but I need to ask what you all think. Would you read a spin-off focusing on Olivia Prenton when she was in the FBI Training Academy and her first few years on the job? (there would also be a lot of romance with her and Lindsey (how they met, falling in love, etc) because I have big plans for those two!)