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Chapter 3: "A Day in the Life"

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"I am going to take an impossibly long bath today, after I take an impossibly long nap. And then I'm going to get back in my bed and read," Meredith announced. She stood at the nurse's station rubbing her neck and filling out paper work.

"Seriously. That's how you're going to waste your day off?" he asked.

Meredith shrugged. "I don't work until three the next day. There's plenty of time for debauchery after reading."

"How about I take you out for dinner, to thank you for helping me out."

Meredith contemplated this offer for a moment. "I can't. I already have dinner plans." She didn't sound the least bit regretful and that bothered Alex a bit. "I'm sure it'd be fine if you came, too," she added, surprising him.

"Oh, okay," he responded, dumbly.

"So, can you believe Izzie? I guess after Derek, she's a little protective of me."

"A little?" A little was a major understatement. Alex shook his head. "She was like a mama grizzly bear, running in all crazy. I'm surprised she didn't kick down the door."

Meredith giggled. "So I'll pick you up at 6 tonight." She looked him over. "And wear something nice, like, make sure your socks match your shoes."

As soon as she exited the locker room, Alex realized that Meredith hadn't told him what the dinner plans entailed. But he had the feeling that a lot of things were like that with Meredith.

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"Do I pass the test?" he asked.

"It'll have to do," Meredith responded, sarcastically. He followed her to her Jeep, unable to control his eyes from focusing on her butt. He sighed, suddenly realizing it'd been weeks since he'd had sex. "How was your day? Because mine was impossibly great. George and Izzie were at the hospital all day. I had peace and quiet, for once in my freaking life."

"My day was productive."

"Alex. We're surgeons. The last thing we need on our day off is a productive day. Seriously."

Alex chuckled at her response. "So where we going?"

Meredith was silent for a moment. "Oh. I forgot to tell you." Then, as if she were telling him that his shoe laces were untied, she said, "The Chief's for dinner."

Alex choked on his spit. "Dude! Don't you think that's something you should tell a guy before you take him? At least give me a couple of hours to marinate in it!"

Meredith looked at him sheepishly. "I'm sorry. Look, I forget that not everyone knows him like I do. If you want, I'll take you home."

"I can't go home now! He's expecting me!" He looked at her. "He is expecting me, right. It's not going to be a double surprise, is it?" Alex put his head in his hands and groaned. "Why me?"

"Oh relax. Yes, Dad knows!"

"Jesus, you call him Dad!?"

"Calm down. What? did you think that when I was a kid, I called him Chief, or Dr. Webber?"

Alex sunk further into his seat. "I feel like I'm going to my funeral."

"You are so melodramatic. It's just dinner."

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"Dad, we're here!" Meredith stepped into Richard Webber's home, followed closely by Alex, who looked positively frightened.

"Meredith, is it okay that I just walked into the Chief's house without knocking?" he whispered.

Meredith ignored Alex's grumblings and led him into the kitchen where Richard stood in front of a pot with a spoon in his hand. "Merry, I can't seem to figure out what I'm missing in this."

"Dad," she said, "Alex is here."

For a moment, the Chief looked flustered, which surprised Alex. He'd always thought of Richard Webber as a man who could not easily be surprised. "Oh, that's right," he said, wiping his hands on his apron. "Welcome, Dr. Karev. Sit, sit, I'm just finishing the sauce."

"Dad, don't you think it might be nice if you called him Alex?" she asked, kissing him on the cheek.

"Of course. Welcome, Alex." The word seemed foreign on Richard Webber's tongue. It amazed Alex to see him acting so … normal.

"Thanks for having me, Chief." Despite the intimacy of this dinner, Alex would never be able to call Richard Webber anything other than "Chief."

"Think of it as a congratulatory dinner." Alex nodded in response, unable to think of a vocal response. "I heard you two stirred up quite the scene at the hospital yesterday," Richard said over his glasses at Meredith.

Meredith giggled in response and shrugged. "What's for dinner?" she asked.

Alex had never seen Meredith act so free. Her smile was easier than most days and her eyes sparkled as she danced around the kitchen pouring wine for everyone.

"I'm trying to make my mother's jambalaya, but it seems to be missing something." He paused for a moment and looked in Alex's direction. "Want to try it, Alex?" Alex was so shocked that he was being addressed that he nodded dumbly and walked toward the Chief.

"Are you sure you read the recipe thoroughly and correctly?" Meredith giggled again. She looked to Alex as he stood, taking the spoon from Richard. "I like to call that the disaster Thanksgiving of 2002 when Dad read cinnamon as cayenne, probably because he didn't want to wear his glasses."

"Meredith …" The Chief said, admonishingly, but nonetheless with a smile. "What do you think, Alex?"

"I think it's good, Sir."

Richard nodded, then turned his attention back to Meredith. "Merry, will you finish setting the table?"

She nodded. "Want to help, Alex?" she asked. Not waiting for an answer, she walked into another room. Alex quickly followed, mostly because he was not comfortable with staying in the same room as Chief Webber alone.

"Are you serious?" he asked, quietly.

Meredith gave him a curious look. "I told you he was my step-dad." Her gaze refocused behind him and Alex realized that Chief Webber had entered the room. "It smells good, Dad." Alex moved so that the Chief could place the large bowl of jambalaya on the table.

Alex sat where Meredith pointed and served himself some jambalaya when the bowl came around. "I went and saw Mom today," she told the Chief. Alex was alarmed that Meredith would even bring up Richard's ex-wife.

"Was it a good day or a bad day?"

Meredith smiled and shrugged. "She thought I was a nurse, but she did talk about you and what a stud you are." She giggled. "She said that one time, you two went into the on-call room-"

Alex choked on his food. "Meredith!" Richard Webber yelled.

"Well imagine how I felt hearing about my mother and my father getting it on in the on-call room! My mommy was a dirty whore." Meredith smiled broadly with the hints of a laugh in her eyes.

Alex couldn't help it, he laughed. For the first time in a long time, he felt like he was welcome. Meredith Grey and Richard Webber were a dysfunctional family brought together by a circumstance beyond their control. And Alex felt like he fit right in.

Rather than respond, Richard changed the subject, "So, Alex, how do you like Seattle?"

Alex contemplated the Chief's question. "It's wet. But I like living in a real city. You know, the biggest thing in Iowa is corn."

The Chief chuckled. "I went through Des Moines once. I went to bed at 7 that night because I was so bored."

"Dad! You did not!" Meredith said, indignantly. She looked to Alex, "Trust me, he didn't."

Alex grinned. "Trust me. He did."