Breathe.

Feeling groggy as she woke, Meredith's eyes looking over to her glaring alarm clock, simultaneously turning off the loud, irritating noise. 06:00. With a groan, she climbed out of bed, thankful to have been in her own bed last night. Alone. It made waking up a lot easier, she noticed. Going through a mental checklist of what needed to be done that day, she dragged herself into the shower. Of course, her to do lists never went to plan, but she could always try. Shower, get to work, coffee, mother. She'd figure out the rest later on.

She pulled into her usual spot in the staff car park and grabbed a hair tie from the centre console of her car, using it to tie her loose hair back into a ponytail, out of the way. Turning the engine off, she grabbed her keys and phone and made her way indoors and to the attending lounge. Coffee, finally.

There was a feeling in the air. She couldn't quite describe the feeling, but she knew what her next step would be. Scrubs. She had some time before she needed to be at morning rounds and headed to go change into her scrubs, coffee in hand.

On her way down to her mother's room, she felt the slight buzz of her phone in her pocket and she couldn't help the anticipation she felt. Pulling her phone from her pocket, she bit her lip, leaning against the railing of the walkway as she read the message. You don't really look like a morning person. She released a soft laugh as she looked up, he must've seen her right? Not instantly seeing him, his piercing blue eyes, she looked back to her phone to compose a reply. Perks of the job!

A soft laugh came from beside her, causing her to almost jump out of her skin. She peeked a look to the person stood beside her and slid her phone back into her pocket, "Good morning, Dr. Grey."

Is it a good morning? She had yet to see, "Good morning, Dr. Shepherd," she turned to look at him properly now. He was definitely a morning person. His hand reached to rest on her shoulder, but she met his hand mid-air to stop him. Resulting in her hand wrapped around his for just a moment, before she'd even registered what she'd done, his hand was dropped, "I have to be somewhere, talk later?" If only to postpone the inevitable a moment longer, but she did have somewhere she needed to be.

"So, there will be talking?" He questioned, unable to keep that grin off his face, "here I thought you were going to avoid me for the rest of our professional careers," he teased, getting a small laugh from Meredith, "but maybe we could get lunch?" He fell into step with her as she began walking in the direction of her mother's room, not that he knew that's where she was going.

She laughed softly and smiled toward him, "Maybe. Maybe we can get lunch, I have quite the unpredictable schedule, you know."

"Oh, don't worry, I'm quite familiar with the term unpredictable. I'm sure we'll figure something out," he sounded hopeful.

She shook her head, still smiling, and was going to respond had Bailey not almost ran straight into her, "Bailey? What's up?"

"Oh, Meredith! Dr. Grey, she's lucid!" With reference to Meredith's mother, Dr. Ellis Grey, Derek was unaware the gravity of what Meredith had just been told and stayed silent, assuming the conversation to be about one of her patients.

"Are you sure?" Meredith was shocked. It had been… years since her mother's last lucid episode. She looked to Derek a moment, "I really have to go, I'll catch up with you later?" Now was not the time to explain her familial problems to him. She was pretty sure everyone was aware of the presence of Ellis Grey by now and her situation. Nothing escaped the gossip train at Seattle Grace.

"Go, go. I have to go, anyway…" his voice trailed off as she rushed off ahead alongside Bailey. He shook his head with a small laugh and headed off in the direction of the neurological wing. The opposite side of the hospital. Not that he would've told her that.

Meredith arrived at her mother's room, Maggie stood outside the door, waiting for her. Maggie hadn't had the chance to meet their mother, not properly. Not while their mother was lucid. Her sister looked to her, worried, "I shouldn't... you should go in…"

She nodded, momentarily unable to speak as thoughts raced through her mind. She took a breath, trying to clear her mind before she went in. She had to do this. She had to be brave. The last time her mother was lucid, back in her intern year, her mother didn't exactly have the nicest things to say to her. Imagine my disappointment when I wake up after five years and discover that you're no more than ordinary. Meredith was lucky, in a way, these words helped her push herself. Push herself to be extraordinary.

Bailey looked to her, offering up a small explanation, "she woke while we were doing morning rounds," her head tilted slightly in the direction of the coupe of the interns who were stood to one side, "she was asking for you, wouldn't let us do anything until you got here," Meredith nodded in understanding and Bailey moved on, to give her some privacy, taking the group of bewildered interns with her.

Another deep breath taken; Meredith walked into the room. Her mother, the only occupant, sat up in the bed, and she sat in the chair beside her, "Hey, Mom."

"Meredith! There you are, where have you been? You, you've grown up again… how long has it been?" Meredith watched as her mother's face came to one of realisation. The Alzheimer's. It had happened again, she 'checked out'. Again.

"Six years, Mom. It's been six years this time," Meredith took her mother's hand, in an attempt to try and calm her. She sighed softly, the last time they'd been here, her mother had heart surgery. They hadn't even expected her to last this long. But she had, six years in Roseridge, and here they were again.

Quiet fell between a moment, her mother was thinking. Watching her daughter and thinking. What had she missed? She'd missed so much. Ellis sighed, "Why am I here?"

"Oh," Meredith reached to the abandoned tablet, pulling up her mother's chart, "suspected diverticulitis, they did a CT yesterday and confirmed the diagnosis," she looked up to her mother, taking a breath before telling her more, "they found a mass, on your liver."

Her mother took a sharp breath, she knew what this meant. Possibly cancer. "Was it malignant?" She questioned, her daughter.

"They did an incisional biopsy last night, it's benign, they'll remove it when they take you in for the colonoscopy," she told her mother. She didn't need to explain the reason for surgery over antibiotics for the diverticulitis to her mother. Alzheimer's patients are less likely to take medication, and if they didn't resolve it surgically, it was more likely to reoccur.

"There's something you're not telling me, Meredith."

Of course, her mother could tell when her daughter was hiding something from her. She should've known by know that wasn't possible. She couldn't hide anything from Ellis Grey. She looked to her mother. It was now or never. "Mom, when I was five, when we moved to Boston, when you left Dad… She found me, Mom. Your daughter, my sister. She found me. She's here." Meredith's gaze looked toward the door. She couldn't see Maggie through the small window there and the blinds were closed on the window. She didn't know if she was even still stood there. She assumed not. She looked back to her mother, "and Richard knows."

Derek had just come out of his second surgery of the day, ready for a quick break before his next. He looked up at the OR board, quizzically. He'd checked it just a couple hours earlier. All Meredith's surgeries had been cancelled? His eyes quickly scanned the board for her name. That's when he saw it. Grey, E. Under patients. It took a moment for the pieces to fall into place. Surgeon – Bailey, M. Was E... Ellis? Ellis Grey? His eyes grew wide, involuntarily. How had he not made that connection before? Of course, her mother was Ellis Grey. It was well known in the medical community she had a daughter, Meredith Grey. It was also well known that Ellis Grey suffered from Alzheimer's. He swore his mind didn't usually work this slow. Why did it take so long for me to realise this? Lucid. Bailey had said it, right in front of him. Dr. Grey was lucid. Dr. Ellis Grey, she's lucid.

Now he just felt like an idiot.

His eyes caught the time on the clock above the OR board. 13:50. Only ten minutes until he was next scheduled in the OR. He couldn't push this. For now, he'd do what he came her to do, operate. Later, later he'd find her. If only to check she was okay.

Meredith spent a good hour speaking with her mother, filling her in on things she had missed. Talking about Maggie, about Richard. That no, she hadn't found anyone besides surgery. Although, the look in Meredith's eye told a slightly different story, Ellis chose not to press it. She did remember what happened last time she'd spoken with her daughter. Ellis took her daughter's hands in her own and squeezed gently, "You need to go, go and do what I raised you to do," Meredith couldn't help rolling her eyes at the last statement, "I'm sure you have other patients to check on. I'll be here."

Meredith smiled at her mother and nodded, "I do, I won't be long though. And please let Dr. Bailey examine you. You're scheduled for surgery this evening and she needs to let the interns prep you," Meredith pulled her hands from her mother's hold and stood up, heading towards the door, she turned her head back with a smile, "I'll see you soon, Mom."

"Meredith, bring her with you, would you? Maggie, I want to meet her, bring her when you come back."

This took her by slight surprise, but she nodded, "I will, Mom. I will." And with that she left the room and went to catch up with Bailey to let her know she could go back in and get her mother prepped for surgery.

She needed to find Maggie.

Just Breathe.

Breathe (2AM) - Anna Nalick.