The next three years passed by me so quickly that I was barely able to keep up. I was constantly sleep deprived, lived off of bold coffee and espresso, and only made two friends. I can't say that I was sad to see Dr. Stevens leave SGMW, since she absolutely hated me. I still had no idea why but the moment I walked in, she was all glares. It made no sense to me considering she seemed so bubbly and happy with everyone else. Christina Yang made friends with no one besides Meredith Grey, snapping at everyone and glaring even harder. There's rumors that Dr. Bailey was called the Nazi but I seriously think Dr. Yang was worse. I couldn't imagine sweet little Dr. Bailey being hardcore enough to earn that nickname.

The only two friends I really had there was April Kepner, who didn't seem to hate anyone, and Arizona Robbins. Both of these women are effervescent and sweet, always lending an ear or a kind word. Dr. Kepner was a bit too much in the Christian department for my taste but I also didn't spend hours discussing religion with her, or anyone for that matter.

A lot had happened in the few years I've been at Seattle Grace Mercy West and the drama was finally winding down. There was a big plane crash that resulted in the death of Dr. Sloan and Dr. Grey, Meredith's little half sister. Derek had issues with his hand after it was mutilated on a piece of the airplane when they crashed and Dr. Robbins lost half of her leg which put her and Dr. Torres, her wife, through a really rough time that ended up resulting in the dissolution of their marriage.

The hospital was undergoing a name change and I even heard rumors about a new Chief of Surgery being named, as Dr. Hunt - who had taken Dr. Webber's place - was being pushed aside while he was carefully examined by the hospital board for hiring the plane that crashed and killed two outstanding surgeons. No one knew who the new Chief of Surgery would be, but we were all looking to Dr. Webber. He was adamant that he not take the roll again, trying to focus on his relationship with Meredith after some big clinical trial scandal.

I tried to keep my head out of the drama and focus entirely on my work. Dr. Torres and Dr. Shepherd are working on a brain mapping project while Dr. Grey, Derek Shepherd's wife is focusing her attention on her own career and losing her 'person', Dr. Yang. Dr. Yang was driven and hardcore, to the point that she didn't seem to care who's toes she stepped on to get to where she wanted to go. It had been hard to watch Dr. Grey lose some of her focus when she found out Christina Yang had taken a job running Dr. Burke's hospital in Switzerland. Those two were like two peas in a pod, much like Alice and I. I just wasn't able to spend any time with Alice because she lives in New York currently.

I couldn't imagine my life without Alice or Emmett. Our bond only grew even as we were separated by time and space. Emmett had majored in philosophy and psychiatry in an upstate New York college while Alice majored in fashion and design. I thought their prospective career choices suited both of them to a tee. We talked frequently and used Snapchat as often as we could. I was a lot busier than they were with my crazy resident hours and on call schedule. I had been a part of the program for almost four years now and was in my third year of residency, having been moved up so fast because of my insane drive.

"She even gave me a compliment." I gushed to Alice one night on the phone last week, twirling my hair and sitting on the couch with my knees up to my chest. It was the first day off I've had in over a week and I was adamant that I not put on shoes the whole day. My poor aching feet needed to breathe.

"No way. I don't believe you." She stated, the disbelief thick in her voice.

"I wouldn't believe me either." I laughed.

Doctor Yang had told me that I was 'going places'. Granted, she ended the sentence with a crass 'to hell, probably', but I was happy nonetheless. That she acknowledged my medical prowess at all made me feel invincible.

"Did I tell you that we're getting a new Chief of Surgery? No one has a clue who he is." I stretched my legs out to rest my heels on the ottoman in front of me, one hand holding the phone to my ear while the other continued to twist soft strands of hair around and around. It was now past my shoulder blades and in dire need of a trim. All of my highlights had grown out a while ago and I never found the time to bother with it again.

"Did I tell you that we're moving to Seattle?" Alice countered with a sly edge to her voice.

I sat up abruptly, my feet thumping on the floor as excitement flew through my veins.

"You are!?" I practically yelled. "When!?" This was fantastic news. I hadn't seen Emmett or Alice in person in almost three full years and I missed the crap out of them.

"We are actually finished packing the house now and will be flying out ahead of the movers tonight." I could hear the smile in her voice as she anticipated my enthusiasm.

"Oh my. Oh my God!" I stuttered, not bothering to wipe the smile off my face. "This is fantastic news. I can't believe you didn't tell me before now!"

"It was a surprise. The whole family is finally meeting up now that we've finished college and we're buying a house on the outskirts of the city."

"Holy crow, you have no idea how happy that makes-"

I was interrupted by my pager going off stating an emergency at the hospital.

"I gotta-"

"Go. Love you, miss you, muah!" Alice said quickly before she ended the call. I tossed my cell phone into my canvas tote and slipped on my fleece lined sneakers before running out the door.

The ER was a mess when I walked in. The Ebola virus was running rampant through the halls and I was handed a white mask as I walked through the doors. I thanked the nurse and wrapped the strings around my ears as I continued on to the locker room to store my bag and slip into my scrubs as quick as I could. Walking out to the commotion, I wrapped my hair up in a tight bun at the back of my head and greeted Dr. Hunt who filled me in on the epidemic that was rising. It had hit the city of Seattle hard and every time another patient came in with symptoms, they seemed to die within hours.

There was talk of a conspiracy with the government. That they had released the virus on purpose. It sent shivers up my spine just at the thought.

"Swan! I need help over here." Dr. Hunt's voice boomed through the ER, above the hum of people talking and machines working.

I dove straight into the madness and helped with everything that I could for the next six hours. By the time I dragged myself home for the rest of my 'day off', all I want to do now is to soak in a hot tub full of epsom salts and lavender essential oils. My phone screen lit up soundlessly, letting me know that someone sent me something on the ghost app. I waited until the tub was filled and the calming scent of lavender hung in the air, stripping from my clothes and sank down into the hot abyss that was now my bathtub.

I reached over to the white towel stand beside the tub and grabbed a hand towel, rolling it up and placing it behind my neck so I could lie back comfortably and relax. Once I was settled, I grabbed my phone from the tub edge where I had set it and saw that Alice and Emmett both had sent me Snaps. Alice's was of a long stretch of highway, the ever present rain and wet roads of Washington between the lush green trees. Emmett's photo was of his smiling face so close to the camera, I couldn't see anything else around him. I smiled as I sent them each the same photo of me lying in a tub full of bubbles, smiling and flipping them off.

My phone rang and I answered it on speakerphone, setting it back on the tub edge so I could relax while I spoke to my friends.

"That was rude, shorty." Emmett reprimanded with a chuckle.

"Sorry, not sorry. I see you guys are in the state now?" I closed my eyes.

I could hear Alice's smile as she spoke rapidly. "We are! Probably twenty minutes from the new house now. I'm so excited to show it to you. I can't wait until you come over and see it. You'll have to request time off so we can hang out."

I barked a laugh, causing the water to swish softly around me. "There is no such thing, Ali. I can't request time off. This is a program. I'll see you when I get off or before I start. There's a bar across the street from the hospital. They've got darts and pool. We can always spend time there. How far are you going to be from me?"

Alice hummed a moment in thought as Emmett answered. "I just looked it up. We'll be ten minutes away from the hospital. Where do you live? You said you got an apartment?"

"Yeah, I live across the street, above Joe's Bar."

"Convenient." Alice said and I nodded before I realized she couldn't see me.

"Sure is."

"Was it a mess there today?" She asked and I could hear the sound of tires on gravel, telling me they were probably nearing their destination.

"Like you wouldn't believe. April is off with Jackson on their impromptu honeymoon, Bailey is out sick, and Hunt is on the warpath since Christina left. That's just the attending drama." I rambled, my eyes still closed as I let the epsom salts pull all the toxins from my body and the lavender oils relaxed me even further.

"I meant with the virus going around."

"Oh yeah, that's awful. They came out with a vaccine for it, I guess but I really don't trust it."

Alice gasped, "No, definitely don't take the vaccine."

"Know something I don't?" I inquired.

Emmett answered for her after a short pause. "Alice is an anti-vaxxer," he said casually, causing me to laugh again. "Seriously though, better to not inject anything foreign into your veins, right shorty?"

I chuckled. "Right. Either way, we're all on the lookout for symptoms and anyone showing them goes right home, away from the public. That's where Bailey is now being taken care of by her hunk of a fiance, Ben. I still don't know anything about the new Chief of Surgery. A bunch of us asked Hunt but he remains tight lipped about it. It's kinda annoying."

I heard my friends murmur between each other before Alice released a delicate sigh. "I was supposed to tell you this already, Bella but you've been so busy. Our dad is the new Chief of Surgery at your hospital. That's why we're moving back. He couldn't turn this offer down."

"Goodness. That's awesome, Ali. I gotta say, I'm nervous now." I lifted myself from the bath, releasing the plug and grabbing my fluffy purple towel.

"Don't be nervous. He's gonna love you." She said adamantly.

I laughed incredulously as I toweled my hair. "He won't have time to even get to know me, let alone love me."

Residents in this program were always running around with their heads on backwards, never knowing which way was up or down. The only time any of us were focused with precision was during surgery. It was what we lived for.