GAGAGA

Chapter 6: "The Tracks of my Tears"

GAGAGA

Meredith banged into the locker room with a sour look on her face. "Hey, hey, some people have hangovers today. Have a little respect, Mer," Alex growled.

"Yeah, and some people have their ex-boyfriend's wife and her ex-boyfriend following her around the hospital, so the next time you decide to have a hangover, invite me to partake, would ya?" Meredith sat next to him on the bench. "I'm sorry. That was uncalled for." Meredith slumped into herself.

"What do they want with you?" he asked. He already knew most of the story, and for that he felt guilty.

"Dr. Sloan, he keeps asking me out, and She-Shepherd, well she keeps telling me it's not a good idea. Like I didn't know that for myself." She looked at him. "When is this going to end? When am I just going to have a normal life? When do I get to stop being the dirty mistress?"

Alex ignored her questions, mostly because he didn't know how to answer them. "Is your mom okay?"

Meredith closed her eyes. "My mother will never be okay."

Their peace and quiet was abruptly interrupted by the cacophony created by Izzie, George, and Cristina rushing into the locker room. "What's wrong with you?" Cristina asked, looking pointedly at Meredith.

"Don't mind her, she's a dirty mistress," Alex joked. Meredith cracked a smile.

"You're such an ass," Izzie told him.

Once they were finished getting dressed, all five interns made their way into the hall. "Grey, I don't know what Gods you pissed off, but you were requested by Shepherd, She-Shepherd, and Sloan." Bailey stared at her over her clipboard. "Let's try Sloan today. Try not to get anyone else punched." Alex watched Meredith walk away dejectedly. "So that puts Karev with Shepherd, and Stevens you take She-Shepherd. Yang, Burke. O'Malley, Torres. Now get out of my hair."

Alex found Dr. Shepherd in his office. "Where's Me- … Where's Dr. Gray?"

"She's with Dr. Sloan." Derek looked at Alex with a great deal of anger and confusion on his face. "You, your wife, and Sloan requested her. Take it up with Bailey."

"Sloan?" he asked. "That rat-" Derek straightened suddenly. "That's fine. You started the case yesterday, you can scrub in on the surgery. Go prep the patient." Alex didn't move. "Dr. Karev, if you'd rather stand around all day, I can find another intern."

"Meredith," he began, unsure of where he was going to take this. Derek looked at him, waiting for him to finish. "Leave her alone. I know you could probably end my career for this, but … you and your wife and that dude need to leave her alone. And stop punishing her. It's not her fault that you lied to her. And she can't get over you if you won't leave her alone." He turned to leave, but hesitated for a moment before turning to face Derek again. "And just because Meredith won't, don't think I won't tell the chief."

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Things were tense in the operating room, but Alex didn't mind. It was worth getting off his chest. At lunch, he found Meredith sitting at a table with the rest of the interns.

"How was plastics?" he asked.

"Arrogant," she answered simply.

"Yeah, but he's hot. Are you going to say yes?" Izzie asked. The entire floor knew about Dr. Sloan's recent quest to get Meredith to go on a date with him.

"I might, if just to piss off the Shepherds."

George remained quiet throughout the discussion of Dr. Sloan, awkwardly avoiding eye contact with everyone by staring at his food. "The guy's arrogant because he can be. He's got the hands of a God," Alex offered.

Meredith smirked. "Do you want to go on a date with him?" Alex made a face at Meredith, then winked.

Simultaneously, all of their pagers went off. There was a collective groan as all five interns ditched their food and ran for the nurse's station to find Bailey.

"We have an incoming trauma. Car accident, we have three victims: One male and two females. Let's go greet them downstairs." The interns trailed behind Bailey like ducklings behind their mother.

The first ambulance arrived. "Fifty-seven year old male, driver of the car, suffered severe head trauma and lacerations. The wife is coming in the next bus, but she reported him blacking out right before the accident."

"Alright, Grey, take him up to OR1." Bailey turned to the paramedic. "Do we have a name for him?"

"Thatcher Grey." Alex's head snapped up to look at Meredith at the recognition of the last name. Meredith stared down at the man in the gurney, frozen.

"Meredith!" he said, trying to snap her out of it. When it didn't work, he called to his boss, "Bailey! Meredith can't be on this case."

Bailey looked at Alex, "Dr. Karev, since when do you get to-"

He interrupted her, for the first and last time ever, and quite abruptly. "He's her father." Bailey turned to Meredith to witness the glazed look in Meredith's eyes as she continued to stare at her biological father.

"O'Malley, take over for Grey. Karev, get her out of here! " She turned back. "Somebody page Montgomery-Shepherd, one of them is pregnant."

When Meredith wouldn't move on her own, Alex swooped her up and carried her to the chief's office, not knowing where else to take her. She leaned into his shoulder, unconsciously craving contact with him.

Richard Webber looked up as Alex erupted into his office carrying Meredith. His heart broke for his little girl. "Meredith?" he asked, standing. When she didn't respond, he looked to Alex for help.

"Umm … Thatcher Grey was just admitted into the hospital for trauma due to a car crash. He and … his, uh, family."

If there had ever been a time when Richard Webber had been angrier than this moment, he couldn't remember it. Not that his anger was rational. For all intents and purposes, Seattle Grace was a hospital, and Thatcher Grey had every right to be there to receive treatment. In theory.

Alex slowly backed out of the office to leave father and daughter alone, though part of him wished he could stay to comfort his friend.