A/N: I'm going to try and update this once a week as I try and finish my other three stories.


"Grey, here's your coffee, anything in it?" he asks, handing her a steaming mug.

"This is good, black and strong," she said. She's still tired. Getting up late this morning didn't help. Looking at her online schedule she realizes her morning is light for the morning.

"Hope the caffeine kicks in soon. Gotta run, I have surgery in 30. See you this afternoon for the tumour resection at 2," he said smiling, picking up his tablet and coffee cup.

"Yes, see you at 2."

Meredith is changing into her runners and reviewing her notes and drinking her second coffee of the day when Link walks in the room. She asks, "Hey Link, how's Amy?"

"Good. Tired. I need to go home and get the carseat," he says.

"If it's at my house, double check on DeLuca. He was sound asleep on the couch this morning when I left."

"How did he get there?"

"I dropped him on the couch after taking him home. I don't know how much sleep he got. But he wasn't talking. Wasn't moving. So I took him home and dropped him there. Hope he leaves sooner than after Sam left," Meredith says.

"You might want to stay away from Carina today, she was yelling on the phone in Italian. Guessing she was talking to Andrew."

"If he actually answered the phone. But I need to talk to her to get Andrew out of my house. But I'll check on Richard and Amelia first."


After rounding on her patients, she dismissed her residents to prep and post op her patients and page her if needed. Then she headed into Richard's room saying, "Good morning, Dr Webber."

"Morning Meredith, thanks for fighting for me."

Ignoring his thanks, she inquires, "How are you doing? Pain?"

"I feel amazing. A little pain. But not bad."

"Have you been eating?" she says thinking back to after the storm when he was electrocuted.

"The food is crap. But I have been eating it," he replies.

"Good, because I will force it into you if necessary," she teases.

"I know. We won't have a repeat of that. I have too much to live for."

"Do you want visitors this afternoon? I can bring up Ellis and Harriett after my surgeries."

"Since you won't let me scrub in with you I'd love a visit with them."

"Maybe next week you can watch from the gallery," she says. "If there is a good surgery, maybe you can teach the interns from there. It will be at least a month before we can let you back into the OR, we need to confirm your mental tests are clear. And that your cobalt levels decrease and stay low."

"I know. Are you and Link doing a medical article on this?"

"Amelia, Link and I will. I've already sent a message to the board to ask for Cobalt to be added to the standard metals scans, and asked they pass it onto all Catherine Fox Foundation hospitals. It presented a neuro issue, but looking at the replacement he pulled from you, it's an Ortho issue. These need to be removed from everyone. I'm surprised you weren't in significant pain."

"How's Amelia? The baby?"

"I haven't been up there yet. I had to round on my patients first," Meredith answers.

"I shouldn't keep you then. Finish your rounds and go see your sister. Thanks for fighting for me," he says.

"I've fought for you before. And I'll keep fighting. I'll see you this afternoon." On her way out, she sees Jackson and stops him and asks if she can take Harriett up with Ellis to see Richard after her afternoon surgery.

"Definitely, that's great. She's been asking for G'pa Richard. I'll let daycare know you'll be by this afternoon. Thanks for taking care of him," Jackson says.

"How's Catherine?" she asks.

"Mad that he doesn't want to see her. Happy that he's healthy."

"To be expected, I guess," she replies. "We need a place for Richard to live when he leaves here. I'm not sure he's going to forgive your mom right away."

"He can stay with me. My guest room is on the main level," Jackson says.

"Will your mom be OK with that? Can you talk it over with him? He won't want pity."

"I doubt mom will be happy. You know how she is. I will talk to Richard and my mom. The other option is your house!"

"Just imagine, Richard living in the frat house! I have Maggie, Link and Amelia and four kids. Not sure there is space for Richard. And I have too many stairs." And with that they head their separate ways, laughing at the thought of Richard, their mentor, their sorta father, living at Meredith's house.

Meredith swings by the cafeteria to pick up a couple of smoothies and muffins and heads to the Maternity floor. She hopes she can get into see Amelia without running into Carina, but as she turns the corner there stands Carina.

"Dr Grey, can I have a word?" Meredith hears as soon as she spots the striking Italian obstetrician in her light pink scrubs. This reminds her so much of when Addison Montgomery stalked the halls in her salmon pink scrubs, at least she wasn't a nervous intern right now.

"Dr DeLuca, I'm on my break. I have to stop by Dr Shepherd's room and then I can meet you in your office? Say 20 minutes?"

"Sure," she answers glaring at Meredith.

"Hey, Amy!" she greets as she walks into the private room.

"You brought food!" Amelia says, greeting her sister.

"A blueberry smoothie and your favourite chocolate chip banana muffins," Meredith replies.

"You are my favourite person today!" she says.

"Even more so than Link? I must have really scored!"

"I love Link. He gave me our beautiful son. BUT an amazing mid morning snack after the crappy hospital breakfast…"

"Does your beautiful boy have a name?" Meredith asks as she checks him out where he sleeps in the bassinet.

"Nope. We just can't decide," she says.

"You might not like me if I can't get Andrew off the couch by the time you get home tonight."

"How did he get there?"

"I was so tired last night and found him as I left the hospital. He wasn't talking, was pretty much out of it. I didn't know what to do and didn't want to leave him in the hospital hallways, or just drop him at his house. So he was asleep on the couch this morning. I'm hoping Link or Carina can get him to move before you head home this afternoon."

"How were your kids this morning? Did they say anything about Andrew?"

"We slept in this morning. We were running late. Thankfully Zola woke us up. And I dropped them off and then got them Subway sandwiches, cookies and drinks for lunch and returned to drop those off too. ZoZo asked if he was going to stink as much as last time he slept on the couch."

"Smart Zola! Were you alone this morning?"

"Yes, Maggie stayed with Richard last night."

"How's he doing?"

"Amazing. It's absolutely amazing. You know we need to write something for submission about the Cobalt poisoning."

"Yes. Maybe we can do that at home. Since Link and I are on leave."

"Definitely. Then I can spend time cuddling with my nephew. I better run, I need to talk to Carina before my surgery with Dr Hayes."

"See you later. I'll text you when we leave."

"Thanks. I'm proud of you. Love you," Meredith said handing her a fussing baby and dropping a kiss on Amelia's head.

She stops by Carina's office and updates her about Andrew and that hopefully he would get up and head home on his own. They discuss options if he wouldn't leave and Carina agrees that she will take him home if he hadn't left by the end of the day. Carina yells at Meredith because Meredith was so much softer and not into the tough love that Carina gives her brother. She believes that Andrew has always been coddled and he needs tough love. Meredith concludes, "I'm sorry, I didn't know what else to do last night. I just wanted him safe. I can't keep him at my house as we have a newborn coming home today."

"Don't worry. I'll take him home and get him help," Carina says.

"If he frets about work, tell him not to worry. I know he wasn't supposed to be working this past week but was obsessed with Richard's case. I've put him on leave for a week. It won't hurt his residency. We need to get him healthy," Meredith says.

"Thanks," Carina said.

Meredith then heads to her first surgery of the day and spends the next two hours teaching her resident, Dr Helm and two interns the intricacies of liver resections. "Dr Helm, you can scrub in this afternoon with Dr Hayes on the tumour resection," Meredith says to the resident who impressed her the most during today's surgery.

"Thanks Dr Grey."

"Dr Grey, you have a 911 page to OR2. Dr Hunt is sending a patient up for you," Sally, the nursing student says.

"Thank you Sally, I'm just about to close here. Let them know I'll be there," Meredith says. She has Dr Helm close the incision under supervision.

She turns to her two interns, "Please help Bokhee bandage the patient and get him settled in Recovery. Dr Helm, can you update the patient's family and follow up with your interns?"

"Yes Dr Grey," Dr Helm replies. She is basking in the praise and responsibility she is being handed today.

As soon as Dr Helm finishes her last stitches Meredith steps away from the table, pulls off her gown and gloves, heads to the door and says "Thanks everyone. Good work."

Her next patient had been in a car crash and the scans were up on the screen as she walked in. The resident, Dr Parker, briefs her and she greets Dr Tom Koracick who already has the craniotomy started. "Dr Parker, please open with a midline incision."

She works with Dr Parker having him do most of the work as the only abdominal bleeding was coming from the spleen. As they were clearing all the quadrants ensuring there are no other issues, she quizzes Dr Parker and his intern for the procedures for a splenectomy. Cormac walks in the door and asks, "Dr Grey?"

"Yes, Dr Hayes?

"Will you be ready for our surgery at 2pm? Or should I push it back?" he asks.

"I'll be there for 2pm. Dr Helm will be scrubbing in too," Meredith responds.

"Have you had a break? Do you need anything?" he asks.

"No break today. Just surgery! I have a granola bar in my lab coat pocket. I'll grab some water before I come in. Feel free to open if I'm running a few moments behind."

An hour later they finish up in OR2 and she thanks everyone and tasks Dr Parker and his intern with talking to the family and getting the patient to Recovery then the ICU. Once out of the OR she heads directly to the bathroom for a quick pee, splashes water on her face, checks for any phone messages and heads to grab her snack from her lab coat in the change room. Tucked in her pocket she finds a Starbucks bottled Vanilla Frappuccino as well as the granola bar she'd left in there. She smiles, finding the caffeine boost and note for Cormac. The note says 'I know you missed your coffee at lunch, I know this isn't as good as fresh. See you in OR4. CH'

Knowing they would have the patient under by now she drinks the coffee and eats her granola bar before heading to the scrub room. She places her pager down for the OR nurse and then scrubs in. Walking into the OR and accepting the gown and gloves from the nurse, she says, "Thanks, Annie. Dr Hayes, sorry I'm late."

"No problem. If you could join beside Dr Helm. She's opening today. Today's scans are up on the screen," he says welcoming her.

"Dr Grey, he's ready for you," Dr Helm says, stepping to the side.

"Let's see this tumour. We will slowly remove it from around each organ as we get to it," she says, as she goes onto explain her approach to this winding type of tumour. Thankfully initial tests had shown it wasn't cancerous, but the whole tumour would be sent to pathology to ensure there were no cancer cells hiding in it.

"Nice work Dr Grey," Cormac says after Meredith had slowly removed the whole tumour as one piece over the past 3 hours.

"Wow, you got that as one whole piece," Dr Helm says.

"With both your help, we were able to. The advantage of removing in one piece is that we don't leave pieces behind and if there are cancerous cells hiding inside none of them sneak out. Now it's time to close. Dr Helm and Dr Hayes, can you finish up here?"

"Go ahead Grey."

"Thanks. See you in the ICU. Thanks everyone," she says to the OR team as she removes her gown and gloves. She scrubs out, puts on a gown and heads to the ICU to check on her last patient. While walking she calls Maggie to see when she's leaving or if she's staying with Richard tonight. After checking up on her patients, she heads up to the daycare and grabs Ellis and Harriett.

"Sorry I'm so late. Surgery was long. Do you want to go see Grandpa Richard?" Meredith says to them.

"Yes!" "Yay!" And the two girls chat as they head to the elevator and to Richard's room.

"Dr Webber, I have some visitors for you," she says walking into his room.

"Now this is a great surprise! Ellis and Harriett!" and the two girls run over and hug Richard. Meredith settles Harriett on his bed, and Ellis on the chair beside the bed and then checks his chart.

"Looking good here. Maggie will be bringing you dinner shortly."

"Thank you. And thanks for bringing these two cuties in to see me. I love these visits. How's Amelia?"

"They went home a few hours ago."

"That's good. Are you done for today?"

"Yes, I did 3 surgeries back to back. Very impressed with Dr Helm's and Dr Parker's work today. Now off to find Jackson and head home."

"Have a good night girls," Richard says to the three of them as they head to the lounge. Meredith paged Jackson letting him know they would be in the lounge. "Ellie, Harriett, please sit nicely here and read while I change," she says, handing them her iPad with a favourite ebook open.

"Yes, Momma!" "Yes, Auntie Mer."

Jackson and Cormac were both in the lounge with the girls when she got back out. "These two told me they had a good visit with Grandpa Richard. Thanks for taking Harriett," Jackson says.

"Not a problem. Maggie is taking him dinner tonight but then coming home," Meredith tells Jackson.

"So Dr Webber is doing well?" Cormac asks.

"Yes. He's in much better shape," Jackson says.

"That's good to hear. Dr Grey, guess you are headed home?"

"Yes, to the family. Quiet evening. I have a sister, her partner, their newborn and my two kids at home. Elli and I will be taking them home dinner," she says.

"You aren't cooking?" Cormac inquires.

"You don't want Meredith cooking," Jackson says as he packs his bag.

"Jackson!" Meredith responds by slapping him.

"It's true! Just remember my party when you started an oven fire," he continues teasing.

"OK. Cooking isn't my strength," she agrees.

"Bye Auntie Mer," Harriett says as Jackson picks her up.

"Bye sweetie. Have fun with Daddy and Grandma tonight."

Cormac listened to the two of them banter back and forth, thinking their relationship is like siblings. "You two tease one another like siblings," he says.

"Well we kinda are now. It's a long story. But we've worked together since the Seattle Grace and Mercy West merger, been through some crazy stuff here. And he and Maggie are step siblings, and she's my half sister, so…"

"That is a crazy connection," he says.

"Oh and I knew Richard when he did his residency. I'm the one of the three of us that he knew when we were little."

"You'll have to tell me that story sometime," he says.

"So about that raincheck," she starts checking her schedule.

"What does your schedule this weekend look like?"

"I'm off Friday night and all day Saturday. I'll need to arrange a babysitter if Amelia or Maggie aren't up for watching the kids though."

"Do they both live with you?"

"Yes. Maggie, Amelia, now Link and four kids," she admits.

"And you all get along?"

"Mostly. Amy and I've had our issues. Same with Maggie and I. They've been here for me since Derek died. What about your kids? Can you just leave them?"

"If I order them a large pizza they'll be happy! Teenagers! How about dinner Friday evening?" he says in response.

"Sounds good. See you tomorrow," she says, getting Ellis ready to leave then finishes pre-ordering dinner to pick up on her way home.