He stared at his baby sister. He couldn't have heard right. This was his baby sister. He used to fight off her old boyfriends with deadly threats and stone-cold glares. Now she was pregnant… and in New York. There had to be more to the situation. Alex did something wrong. That had to be it. Mark knew bits and pieces about the situation his sister had gotten herself into with her fellow resident. Maybe he could have prevented all this. Obviously this was not what Meredith had in mind when she got into their "sex non-relationship." Maybe if he had flown out to Seattle and threatened the guy just like he used to with all Meredith's other boy toys/boyfriends, she wouldn't be in this predicament. Maybe she wouldn't have flown to the other side of the country with tears streaming from her eyes that held unwavering confusion.

Meredith buried her face into her hands not wanting to look at him. Part of her was afraid. Part of her wanted him to comfort her like he used to when she broke up with a high school boyfriend. He wasn't exactly how to reply to her confession when she turned her head after a few minutes to look at him. But he knew he had to say something.

"How do you feel about this?" He asked calmly with nothing else to say. Besides, it seemed like the logical place to start the conversation that would definitely be a long one.

"I don't know what to feel. Part of me wants to run and hide. Part of my wants to tell him. And part of me thinks it would be better if I… run away to Mexico and start a new life with a man named Pablo." He gave her a soft smile rubbing her back in a small circular pattern. "What do I do Mark?"

"You know I can't tell you what to do with your life."

"That's never stopped you before." She pointed out wiping her cheeks.

"You're on your own for this one. But… whatever you decide. I'm here for you. Whether it's helping you change diapers or flying back to Seattle with you. Personally, I'd like the latter so I can kick this Alex guy's ass."

She couldn't help but giggle. "He doesn't even know, Mark." It took a second for her brain to catch up with her mouth. As the thoughts crossed her mind, a fresh batch of tears started down her cheeks. He pulled her into his arms unsure of what to say. So he just held her in his brotherly embrace until her sobs started to subside.

--

Seattle, Washington…

"Why hasn't she called?" George asked to nobody in particular. Everybody knew the 'she' he was referring to. They were all worried about her. And their worry only worsened after the chief said 'she needed to get away.' Sure, they all noticed her distraction and constant distant gazes over the past week or so. But what was so bad that she needed to 'get away.'

"We don't know." Izzie sighed as she swigged her beer.

They were all at Alex's and Meredith's house watching a surgical tape and sipping a beer. They weren't necessarily waiting by the phone for her call. They were more or less passing time until she called and they were sure she wasn't hurt or sick or something like that.

"Come on. This is pathetic." Christina said dropping her feet from the coffee table to the floor. "She's fine."

"We're just hanging out…We aren't waiting for her to come home or something." Izzie said trying to sound convincing, but failing.

"She's our friend. We aren't just going to accept that fact she disappeared." George pointed out as if he were the voice of reason in their heads.

Sighing, Christina fell back and rested her feet on the coffee table once again. "We aren't waiting for her to call. We're watching a kick ass surgery."

Izzie nodded in agreement and tried to focus on the TV. It was easier said than done for all of them.

"God we're a mess with out Meredith." Izzie sighed loudly. Nobody answered, but it was true. All the time they spent together, it was hardly noticeable how much they depended on their routines. But when it was disturbed, it was all they could think about. Without the Dark and Twisty Meredith they had all come to know and love, everything seemed so different. Izzie let the suggestion past acknowledging the fact nobody would actually admit it and turned her gaze to Alex. "You're unusually quiet today, Alex."

"Just tired." He answered without lifting his eyes from the piece of fuzz he was currently watching slowly moved across the rug in the low, hardly noticeable breeze of the air conditioning vent.

--

The next day came slower than it ever seemed possible. After everyone left the night before, he was left alone in the big empty house. He fell asleep on the couch a little after midnight after watching four more surgical tapes. When he woke up, he was greeted by the unfamiliar silence that hung in the air. Shuffling up the stairs he made his way to the shower. Everything seemed so… boring without Meredith. It wasn't that it needed her. It was more that without her around everything seemed so quiet. The only sounds in the house were his own footsteps, the water hitting the shower floor, and the hum of the air conditioning. When he got out of the shower, he dried off and changed quickly before heading off to work.

By the time he got there, Christina and Izzie were already changed and waiting around in the locker room for whatever it was that they were waiting for. George was behind one of the curtained area in the back. They looked up when the locker room door opened, and he stepped in.

"Hey." He said with disinterest in his voice.

"Hey." They all replied in their morning voices.

If for no other reason, they changed in silence because there was nothing to be said. Christina eventually made her way out mumbling something about needing a good case. Izzie stayed around munching on an apple before picking up her coffee to leave.

"See you guys later." She walked out without waiting for any kind of response.

George lingered a while longer before saying his goodbyes and shuffling out. Alex stayed behind collecting his things in his lab coat and clipping his pager on his waist.

Silence gave the usually noisy locker room an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach. He ignored it, gathered the rest of his possessions in his locker, and headed out in the same direction everybody else had.

Today was going to be a long day. He could feel it.