"Hey, Shepherd!" Cristina barked out as she and Meredith approached the OR board.
He turned, uncapped EXPO marker still in hand, and Meredith immediately felt herself stiffen. Derek looked exactly how she remembered. Same scrubs, same hair, same face. Unwillingly, her eyes trailed to his left hand. She let out an involuntary sigh of relief when she saw that his ring finger was bare.
"What?" he asked with a trace of annoyance. Glancing quickly at Meredith, he looked away, and then did a double take. "Meredith?"
"That's what we're here about. She needs your glioblastoma at 2," Cristina explained shortly.
Derek simply stared at Meredith, dumbstruck. "You look different. You cut your hair." he said numbly.
Fingering the ends of her hair, which now brushed her collarbone, Meredith shrugged. "Yeah. I did."
"Why are you back?" Derek blurted.
"None of your business. She needs a tumor," Cristina interrupted, crossing her arms.
Meredith squirmed as Derek sized her up, registering the navy blue scrubs that Bailey had given her to change into. She felt odd wearing them when most of her peers were still residents. In the army, everyone dressed the same.
"Since when are you -"
"Residency is accelerated in the army," Meredith mumbled.
Derek smirked. "And you specialized in neuro?"
"Oh, please. You wish it was because of you," Cristina scoffed. "She's naturally gifted."
Derek stepped back, baffled. "Whatever. Yeah. You can have my surgery at 2."
"Thank you." Cristina said decisively. She took the marker from Derek's hand and stepped up to the board, wiping away Shepherd, D and replacing it with Grey, M.
Xx
"Lexie did her residency here?" Meredith hissed.
"Yeah, yeah. Keep on ressecting," Cristina said, adjusting the retractor.
"Suction." Cristina accepted the suction from Bohkee and cleared the area around the tumor. Meredith took over once she was done, dumbfounded. "What is she like?"
"Well, she's my intern. She won't shut up about you. She wanted to send you a letter and I said you had no way to receive them," Cristina grumbled and gave her a sideways glance. "I figured I would spare you that."
"Thanks," Meredith muttered. She couldn't entirely wrap her head around the idea that her sister, her actual flesh and blood, had been walking around the hospital for the past few months. Maybe she was using the same locker that she did during her internship. "Do we look the same?"
Cristina tilted her head to the side. "Not really. You kind of have the same facial…" she gestured at her own face. "...structure."
Just then the OR door burst open. A girl Meredith didn't recognize appeared, holding up a surgical mask in front of her face. She automatically assumed she was an intern, judging by the fact that her brown hair was divided into two ponytails.
"I just read the OR board. Is it true that -" her eyes widened as they landed on Meredith. "Dr. Grey- uh, Meredith." The girl fumbled to tie the mask behind her head and approached the table, holding out a hand for Meredith to shake. "Is it OK that I called you that? I'm your sister. I'm Lexie."
Meredith smiled slightly behind her mask. "I'm knuckle deep in a brain right now, Lexie."
"Oh! Right." Lexie jerked her hand back and settled for waving awkwardly. "Is it a nice tumor?"
"One of the better ones I've seen. Mrs. Peterson shouldn't have any lasting effects," Meredith responded.
"That's… good." Lexie trailed. She regarded Meredith with reverence for a moment before seeming to realize she was staring. Blushing, she looked downwards. "Um, gonna go," she said, drawing out the last syllable. "I'll see you around."
Cristina rolled her eyes as Lexie exited the OR. "I told you so."
Meredith tutted. "Be nice Cristina. Here, close this skull flap for me."
Xx
If everyone who reads this chapter leaves a review, the next update will be a double ;)
