NOTES: Just ride with me here guys, the roads gonna get bumpy here for a bit but I promise if you wait it out things will be FINE. So pllllleeease no angry mobs outside of my house, lol.

Meredith held her breath as Lexie's words made twists and turns throughout her mind. I believe I am your sister.

She stared at Lexie for a moment, taking in her features and letting the words sink in.

"Excuse me?" Meredith asked.

"Thatcher Grey is my father," Lexie stated and Meredith finally released her hand.
Meredith took a long, deep breath as her eyes shifted to the areas in the linoleum that were worn from the excessive amount of footsteps that passed through the hall.

"If by blood, we're sisters…then so be it. But I'm sorry, I have no father…I have no family," Meredith stated before she took off down the hall.

Lexie didn't watch her walk off; her feet didn't shift to run after her and the words refused to escape her throat.

Meredith felt as if she were drowning all over again; it was as if the freezing water was surrounding her yet again and her lungs were filled. She gasped, trying to breathe but her chest was tight and her throat felt as if it were closing.

She slipped into the first closet she saw, closed the door behind her and threw herself back against the door as soon as she was inside.

She closed her eyes and struggled to breathe, struggled to wrangle the thoughts racings through her brain.

"Dude, are you alright?" A familiar voice asked from the back of the closet.

Meredith's eyes shot open and she focused on Alex Karev, sitting with his knees to his chest, turning his cell phone over and over again in his palm.

"There are how many closets in Seattle Grace and I seriously pick an occupied one?"

"It's a big closet. I'm willing to share I guess," Alex said.

"My sister…I just met my sister," Meredith sighed, moving away from the door to sit next to Alex, pulling her knees into her chest and hugging them tight.

"Haven't you already met her?" Alex asked, confused and raising an eyebrow.

"No, this is the other one…the Harvard one…the Oh-My-Daddy's-So-Proud-of-Me one.." Meredith sighed, "She has scrubs on. She had scrubs on and a name tag."

"She works here? Dude…"

"I think she's a first year," Meredith said, messing with an eyelet on her converse.

"That's shitty, I mean really shitty," Alex said, trying his best to set his own issues aside and be sympathetic.

"Understatement," Meredith sulked. "You know, I've accepted it. I've accepted the fact that my father is afraid of me and blames me. I get it, I'm dealing. But no, this is Meredith Grey…some divine force thinks it's funny to make me their punching bag and so they throw her into my life. I don't need or want a sister because that means Thatcher… and I'm accepting the no Thatcher here….I'm accepting the fact that I'm alone!"

"You're obviously doing a shithole job of accepting if you're sitting here in a closet right now," Alex stated.

"Oh, and you're not sitting next to me?" Meredith asked, "And for the record, why are YOU in here?"

"The new Gynie leader is…"

"Not Addison…" Meredith finished for him.

"And I…"

"Can't stop thinking about Ava?" Meredith asked.

"No," Alex said, Meredith raised an eyebrow at him, "Whatever, alright? Yes."

"Have you tried looking her up? Maybe they're in the phone book or something?"

"I'm not a stalker. What's done is done."

Meredith gave Alex a look and he glared at her, "Don't look at me like that; you make me feel like a pussy."

"It's nice to see your soft side, refreshing even," Meredith said with a small smile. Alex just laughed a bit and rolled his eyes before changing the subject.

"The new Neonatal surgeon, she's like…strict and by the book, very quiet. I flew solo this morning on a cesarean and her standing there watching me gave me the fucking creeps."

"I'd never thought I'd say it but I kind of miss Addison," Meredith said.

"Yeah well, she had to do her thing," Alex shrugged.

"I guess we all do," Meredith sighed.

"You going back to dark and twisty Meredith for a while?" Alex smirked.

"Yes, you want to join the club? I'm sure Izzie will bake us cupcakes and we can sit around drinking tequila and sulking."

"I'm always down for alcohol, especially with the lifetime supply you just stocked up in your liquor cabinet."

"I felt it appropriate seeing as Cristina is going to explode one of these days and will want to drown herself in Jose Cuervo and Izzie…"

"What the fuck is up with Izzie?" Alex asked.

"You noticed too?"

'Yeah, she's…bitter or something. Fuck, I don't know… I'm no shrink, she's just…"

"Not Izzie?"

"Dude, are you an expert in sentence finishing?"

"I guess so," Meredith grinned. "But you're right. I don't know if the whole wedding thing sparked up some emotion…but she's also unbelievably tense towards Callie and bitched out Cristina and I for allowing her to break the inner circle…"

"Bitter," Alex nodded.

Meredith's pager began to go off and she sighed, looking at it. "I have to take this…Thank you," Meredith smiled, touching Alex's shoulder.

"For?" Alex asked.

"Being an excellent closet companion," Meredith grinned.

"Yeah well…see you tonight?" Alex asked.

"Of course," Meredith nodded.

-------------------

Derek Shepherd could not believe his luck. Standing before him was the very brunette that caught his eye at the Emerald City Bar a couple nights before. She was wearing pale blue scrubs, a lab coat and was sorting through labs at the nurses' station. He laughed to himself a bit: was this a strange coincidence? Was he some sort of intern magnet?

"Hello," he said, his signature "dreamy" grin sprawling across his face.

"Hel-" Lexie stopped as she looked up at him and then laughed a bit. "Oh! The very guy who turned down my drink offer, this is…nice?"

"Yeah, I apologize for that. It wasn't you; I was just in the middle of a bachelor party and…"

"It's alright," Lexie laughed. "I can handle rejection just fine."

"Funny that you work here," Derek grinned.

"You should throw in awkward," Lexie laughed. "I just started actually. My first official day."

"Ah, it doesn't get any better."

"Oh, are you offering advice?" Lexie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, but I am offering a release from the stress, if you'll accept."

"Oh, really?" Lexie asked, turning to completely face him. "I don't know… what sort of release?"

"Drinks, this time I'm offering. I too can handle rejection just fine."

"Well, if you find that I'm worth waiting for, I accept the offer. I'm working a straight forty eight…so if you can't make it until Wednesday…"

"Hm, I'll see if I can work you into my busy schedule," Derek laughed.

"Lexie," Lexie stated, holding out her hand.

"Ah, Derek," Derek said as she shook her hand.

"Well, Derek. I have work to do, so now that I know where to find you…I'll let you know about those drinks," Lexie nodded.

Derek nodded back and watched her walk off. When he made his way over to where the woman was standing, he had felt confident in his approach. He had never hesitated when walking up to a beautiful woman, but now thoughts of Meredith hung heavily in his mind. This was his release; he had to let her go. Time and time again she'd regress and it was as if the battles he waged for her heart were lost. He once stood victorious in love, and now he was feeling the agony of defeat. Meredith Grey was a broken woman who found trouble in loving herself, much less another individual. He picked her, he chose her, he loved her, but now, he truly had to stop breathing for her. Lexie's sparkling eyes and warm smile were a new territory, one he wasn't even crystal clear he wanted to explore. She had stood before him, fresh and exciting, and Derek was ready and willing to take a chance.

----------------------

"Alright, which one of you failed the intern exam?" Izzie asked as she set down her tray.

"Uh, none of us?" Cristina Yang asked.

"Someone in our group did," Izzie stated.

"That makes no sense," Alex said through a mouthful of food.

"What he said," Meredith sighed.

"Olivia and Tyler both mentioned something," Izzie said.

"Well, obviously they don't know what the fuck they are talking about otherwise one of us would probably be sitting at the kiddie table over there," Alex said, pointing his fork over at the first years.

"We're here, George is at Mercy West," Meredith said. "You sure it wasn't someone from like Dr. Rodriguez's group or whatever?"

Izzie thought for a second and then her mouth dropped, "It was George…"

"Dude, O'Malley's living it up over at the West right now, probably wrecking appendixes ALONE."

"No…I have this gut feeling. I…"

"She's going to pull out her crystal ball and start chanting," Cristina said, rolling her eyes.

"Actually…she may not even need the crystal ball," Meredith said, setting down her fork and looking over Izzie's shoulder. All four junior residents turned a spied George by the elevators talking with Callie.

"Why is he here?" Alex asked.

"Because he failed his exam," Izzie said.

"We don't KNOW that," Meredith said.

"If he were working at Mercy West, he'd start today like every other program. He failed, wow…see he failed because he didn't use the wifey's resources," Cristina nodded.

"Shut up," Izzie groaned.

"Doesn't Torres have some pull?" Alex asked.

"Not in that case…," Cristina replied.

"That's not fair," Meredith sighed. "I got a second chance, why can't he?"

"Because you're Meredith Grey," Izzie sighed.

"Shut up, Izzie," Cristina snapped. "Because you retook it right away and didn't fill ANYTHING in. He has no excuse. You had just lost your fake mommy and your father of the year there went all Daddy Dearest on you…"

"It's still not fair," Meredith said, feeling a bit guilty even.

"What happens now? …to George I mean…" Izzie asked.

"Isn't he out of the program?" Alex asked.

"Something like that," Cristina nodded.

"Damn, that sucks," Alex said before cramming another forkful of food in his mouth.

------------------------------------

"I'm proud of you, George," Callie smiled.

"Thanks," George softly said.

"We're still getting our fresh start, and you won't be distracted this time around. Fresh faces, new experiences. You've got an advantage over all the first years because you're experienced and that way you can get in on the best surgeries," Callie said.

"Or I'll get passed up because of my experience," George shrugged.

"George, look on the bright side for once, alright? Things are going to look up for us and maybe this is just what you needed to get into the right frame of mind regarding your career," Callie suggested.

"You're right," George smiled. "You're always right."

"Glad you can acknowledge it," Callie laughed. "Are you starting right now?"

George nodded, "I can."

"Go for it, I have a surgery in fifteen, I'll be in for a while, arthoplasty… I'll try and find you if you're here when I get out," Callie smiled softly.

"Sounds good," George said, giving her a light kiss on the lips. Callie squeezed his shoulder before entering the elevator.

"George…" Izzie sighed as she made her way over.

"Izzie, I don't have time to talk right now, okay?" George firmly stated.

Izzie gasped at his tone and folded her arms over her chest. "You don't need to take everything out on me, George O'Malley."

"Look, I have to get myself together. I have to restart my entire internship today. I'm not mentally prepared right now to take on anything else."

"What is wrong with you?" Izzie groaned.

"Izzie! Just stop, okay? I don't want to talk about anything right now," George sighed.

"So you're cutting me off again?" Izzie asked. "You decide to have a baby and then it's back to leaving me in the dark? You can't keep doing this to me. You can't let me in and push me away; you can't be there whenever it's convenient for you!"

"Well then, I just won't be there at all. I CAN'T, Izzie," George said, shaking his head before pushing the button to the second elevator. "I'm sorry," he said as the doors opened and he slipped inside.

Izzie's arms fell to her sides and she shook her head in disbelief. She wanted to hate him, she TRIED to loathe him, but the love so felt was so deeply embedded into her heart that she couldn't overpower it. Instead she stood defeated, digging her teeth into the sensitive flesh of her cheek so that she would not cry.