Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy in any shape or form. But I do own my OC.

A/N: Okay, here's the next chapter of 'Operations. Temptations. Frustrations.' I don;t know how much of the show I intend to follow at this point. Season 1, 2 and 3 should pretty much stay the same with the exception of some minor and major changes. The major change will probably be Lexie's role in the story, as well as Alex's. I think Alex may make some different choices as well.

This will be the chapter where Annabelle actually starts working in the hospital more as an individual than just part of the group.

Reviews:

Guest: Well, I honestly don't understand where you got the idea that this is a Derek/OC story, seeing as I tagged [Meredith G., Derek S.] which means that Derek and Meredith are going to be a couple in this story.

guest: I'm not replacing Meredith with Annabelle. The amazing thing about Grey's is that every character has an individual plot, and I can fit Annabelle anywhere. The only reason why I had her be such a huge part of everything Meredith was in the first chapter is because in the show, Meredith is the main character, and her scenes are how we meet all the other characters. I especially needed Annabelle to meet Alex like that, but that is the only reason why I put her in that scene like that.

Jackie: Thank you! I'm glad you like the story! And yeah, I honestly don't understand why people assume this is a Derek/OC story; that wasn't my intention at all. It was literally just Derek being nice to Annabelle. Thank you for your support!

LPeck: Thank you! I'm glad you like it! Well, I don't want to spoil anything yet about that, sorry... ;)

Guest: Well, these tags exist to tag the characters the story is going to be mainly focusing on and Alex is going to be a huge part of this story.

MD: Well, the fact is you only read one chapter of my story so far. And there weren't many moments between Annabelle and Derek at all. They met, acknowledged each other in the hallway and then had a very short polite conversation. And I think you misunderstood the last part. That was simply Derek being nice when they were in the scrub room. He still went outside of the O.R. and he still had the iconic moment with Meredith.

RHatch89: Thank you! I'm glad you like it!

gguest: Like I said before to another reviewer, you misunderstood. The last part of the chapter was Derek simply being nice to Annabelle as they were in the scrub room. He still went into the hallway and he still had that iconic moment with Meredith. I just didn't write it. And Annabelle is not taking over Meredith's life. I would never want to do that, especially since - let's face it - Meredith's life kind of sucks. And it was Meredith's diagnosis. She and Annabelle both got the idea, which is pretty realistic considering they both worked on Katie since the beginning. And I didn't do it so that Annabelle could have moments with Derek, but rather so that she could be a bigger part of the chapter, seeing as there weren't many scenes without Meredith in the first episode. And I'm not afraid that Merder fans won't read this story if it's not Merder. I know for a fact that they won't, but that doesn't bother me. This is a Merder story. It's not the main couple and it's not the main focus, but it is Merder. And no, Annabelle is not me nor did I ever intend to make her like me, thank you very much (no need to be rude just because you think this isn't a story about your favorite couple, by the way). And you're right, this isn't a Merder story so far. You know why? Because you only read one chapter. And it has nothing to do with "Annabelle being the best and Mer being just for sex" (I honestly have no idea where you got that from). And Annabelle did not replace Meredith in every scene with Derek. Meredith and Derek still slept together, they still met like they did in the show, they still had a talk in the stairwell, they still talked about sleeping together while Derek was shaving Katie's head, they still looked at each other during the surgery (which I did mention, by the way), they still had their iconic moment at the end of the episode. There was plenty of Merder! I just didn't write it!

Patsy: Like I said 100 times already, this is a Merder story, and you can't say it's not just because there weren't many scenes between them in one chapter. The only reason why I had Annabelle do so much of what Meredith did is because Meredith is the main character of the show and that's how we met all the characters in the first episode, by watching their scenes with Meredith. But I needed Annabelle to meet Alex like that and I needed her to be where Meredith was to make her part of the first episode. And yeah, sorry about the updated but never posted chapter, my setting got a bit messed up and instead of replacing a chapter I posted it as a new one and then had to delete the first version.

MerG: Well, Annabelle is the central of this story because the OC is the central of this story. That's the point. And like I said 100 times before, Meredith and Derek still had all of their iconic moments, I just didn't write them because they are not the main focus of the story! And you probably misunderstood (like many other people) the last part of the chapter. Annabelle and Derek had a polite conversation in the scrub room. Meredith and Derek had their iconic moment in the hallway.

Taffyrose: I'm glad you like it! Well, there is definitely going to be something between Alex and Annabelle, though I won't say what ;)

Operations. Temptations. Frustrations.

Chapter 2

The First Cut Is the Deepest

It's all about lines. The finish line at the end of residency. Waiting in line for a chance at the operating table. And then, there's the most important line - the line separating you from the people you work with. It doesn't help to get too familiar. To make friends. You need boundaries between you and the rest of the world. Other people are far too messy. It's all about lines. Drawing lines in the sand... and praying like hell no one crosses them.

"How is she?" Annabelle asked her sister as they walked through the hallways of the hospital they now work at, heading to the locker room. Today, she was wearing navy blue pants with a light brown belt around the waist, a loose white and navy blue striped shirt with 3/4 sleeves, and black flats. Too lazy to do anything special with her hair, she simply pulled the front strands back and tied them in a small bun at the back of her head, leaving the rest of her hair to rest on her shoulders.

"You know, you could always just visit her and see for yourself," Meredith replied, glancing at her sister before they entered the locker room, and Annabelle simply gave her a look, making the blonde sigh. "She's sick, Anna,"

"I know that," Annabelle defended herself, "It doesn't change the fact that she was the worst mother in the world," she said, watching as Meredith pinned the sheet with the sign 'Roommates Wanted' on the bulletin board. "Look, I just want to be sure that she's okay. As long as that's the case, I am completely fine with not seeing her. More than fine, actually,"

"She's okay," Meredith finally said after a few seconds of silence, and Annabelle nodded.

"Thank you," she said, just as the locker room started to fill with their fellow interns. The two women shared a glance, before heading toward their own lockers, and quickly changing out of their clothes and into their scrubs. Annabelle didn't miss the intern she met the other day, Alex, eyeing her up and down as she stripped down to her tank top, but payed him no mind. With the exception of scoffing quietly to herself in disgust as she watched him do the exact same thing to Izzie.

"Look, I'm sure you're very nice, but we're very particular about who lives in our house, and you're just not right," Meredith said kindly to one of the female interns as she sat on one of the chairs in the waiting area, the intern sitting on the coffee table in front of her and Annabelle standing beside her sister, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Why?" the intern asked, and Annabelle inwardly cringed at her whiny voice. Oh, yeah, she thought, there is no way I'm letting that woman into my house, "Look, I'm quiet. No loud music, no parties," the intern pressed as she moved to sit beside Meredith, glancing between the two sisters.

"Where were you when the Challenger exploded?" Annabelle spoke up for the first time, and the intern looked at her strangely.

"The what?"

"The space shuttle, Challenger,"

"Uh, I think I was in kindergarten," the intern replied, confused, and Annabelle smiled a fake smile.

"Exactly. No," she said, before grabbing her sister's hand and pulling her away from the woman.

"You know, you could be a bit nicer," Meredith noted as she pulled her hand out of Annabelle's, and the brunette looked at her like she just grew a second head.

"Okay. If you think that I'm going to let someone like her move into our house, you are greatly mistaken," she said, before walking over to where Izzie, Cristina and George were standing, all having witnessed the conversation.

"Why do you put up posters for roommates if you don't want roommates?" Izzie asked, looking at the two sisters confusedly as soon as Meredith came back with coffee.

"We do want roommates, it's just..." Meredith trailed off.

"Look, we're together 100 hours a week, you want to live together, too?" Annabelle asked, a bit of annoyance clear in her voice.

"I see you bring bribes now, huh?" Cristina said as she eyed the coffee in Meredith's hand.

"I need a place to live. My mom irons my scrubs, I have to get out of there," George spoke up, looking at Meredith and Annabelle pleadingly.

"It's not a bribe," Meredith called after Cristina before looking at George. "I don't think it's a good idea,"

"Look, I can put down last, first, and deposit," George continued, begging Annabelle with his eyes, which she found very hard to resist.

"It's totally a bribe," Cristina said again.

"I can cook," Izzie spoke up. "And I'm an obsessive cleaner,"

"It would be nice to have someone who's willing to clean that house," Annabelle said to Meredith, and Izzie nodded rapidly, looking at Meredith hopefully.

"No," the blonde Grey said firmly. "I just want two total strangers who I don't have to talk to or be nice to, and it's not a bribe, it's a mocha latte," she said, directing the last part to Cristina as Dr. Bailey walked up to the group.

"George, you're running the code team. Meredith, take the trauma pager. Cristina, deliver the weekend labs to the patients. Izzie, Annabelle, you're on sutures," she said, giving out the orders swiftly before heading towards the stairs.

"Dr. Bailey," Meredith called, following after her, in turn making the rest of the group follow them, "I was hoping to assist you in the O.R. today, maybe do a minor procedure? I think I'm ready. Mocha latte?" she finished, holding out the coffee to the short woman.

"If she gets to cut, I want to cut, too," Cristina spoke up.

"Yeah, me, too," Annabelle said.

"Me, too," Izzie spoke up eagerly.

"I wouldn't mind another shot," George also spoke up. "I mean, if everybody else is..."

"Stop talking," Dr. Bailey said firmly, holding up her hand, "Every intern wants to perform their first surgery. That's not your job. Do you know what your job is? To make your resident happy. Do I look happy? No. Why? Because my interns are whiny. You know what will make me look happy? Having a code team staffed, having the trauma pages answered, having the weekend labs delivered, and having someone down in the pit, doing the sutures," she said, looking at all of her interns one by one before grabbing the cup of coffee from Meredith and proceeding to walk up the stairs. "No one holds a scalpel until I'm so happy I'm Mary freakin' Poppins!"

"Which roughly translates to: 'none of us will ever hold a scalpel'," Annabelle muttered, and Izzie sighed in disappointment from beside her.

"Yeah, mocha latte my ass," Cristina said to Meredith quietly, and Annabelle sighed. More than anything, she wanted to cut - not stitch.

"Why are you all standing there? Move!" Dr. Bailey called from the balcony, and the interns' heads snapped up before they quickly scattered, heading where they were ordered to.

"Intern was reassigned so he's mine now," Dr. Bailey said as she walked up to Cristina and George, Alex trailing behind her, "Have him shadow you for the day. You show him how I do things," she said to Cristina before walking away from the interns.

"Alex Karev, nice to meet you," Alex introduced himself with a small smile, extending his hand for Cristina to shake.

"You're the pig who called Annabelle a nurse," Cristina said as she shook his hand. "Yeah. I hate you on principle,"

"And you're the pushy, overbearing kiss-ass, I, uh, I hate you, too," Alex said as they began walking down the hallway.

"Oh, it should be fun, then,"

"Alright... Mrs. Lu," Annabelle read the patient's name, before looking down at the small Asian woman around her 60's and offering her a smile, "I'm gonna sew this up for you," she said, gesturing to the cut on the woman's arm before pulling herself a chair and sitting down beside the bed Mrs. Lu was sitting on, "Are you allergic to any medication?" she asked, pulling over the suture tray and preparing to numb the woman's arm. However, she looked up as the woman began speaking in a foreign language, which Annabelle was about 95% sure was Chinese, "Oh, um... D-Do you speak English?" she asked, but Mrs. Lu only replied in Chinese, "Okay, um... Hey, Izzie!" she called to her fellow intern, who looked up as she came back from the supply closet with more suture kits and quickly walked over to her.

"Yeah?"

"You wouldn't happen to speak Chinese, would you?" the brunette asked.

"Sorry, uh... w-what do you need?" Izzie shook her head, but looked over at Mrs. Lu as she once again said something in Chinese, before sharing a looked with Annabelle, who simply nodded, defeated, "I-I'll find, um... Does anybody here speak Chinese?" she called out to the people surrounding them, but only received multiple shakes of heads in return.

"Well, this is gonna be fun day," Annabelle said sarcastically as Izzie sighed.

"Since when does the possession of ovaries become an insult?!" was the first thing Annabelle heard as she walked over to George, Meredith and Cristina, who were all standing by the nurses' desk, or - in George's case - sitting.

"What?" she looked at the Asian woman weirdly, but Cristina just waved her off.

"Nothing,"

"Okay..." Annabelle trailed off, still looking at her colleague weirdly before sighing as she leaned against the desk.

"You okay?" George asked.

"I have a patient in the pit who only speaks Chinese and a has a deep cut that needs at least six stitches. But I can't stitch her up without numbing her, and I can't numb her without knowing if she's allergic to any medication, which I will never know because she doesn't speak English and I can't get hold of the translator!" she exclaimed in annoyance.

"Where is she now?" Meredith asked.

"I left her with Izzie. I've been trying to figure something out for the past 20 minutes. Now, it's her turn," Annabelle said.

"Well, your sister is carrying a penis around in a jar," George spoke up, and Annabelle looked at him weirdly before looking down at the cooler on the desk, noticing it for the first time.

"Oh, from the rape surgery?" Cristina asked as she walked over to the cooler.

"Yeah," Meredith responded, "And it's not a jar, it's a cooler," she said as Cristina opened the cooler to take a look.

"Wait, what rape surgery?" Annabelle asked, and they all looked at her.

"You didn't hear?" Meredith asked, her brows furrowing.

"No, I've been stuck in the pit all day,"

"A rape victim came in a few hours ago. A young girl, 5'2", no more than 100 pounds, beaten to hell but still alive after simultaneous brain and abdomen surgeries, so she's definitely got a chance," Meredith explained briefly. "I hope,"

"So where does the penis come in?" Annabelle asked, also taking a look into the cooler. "Oh,"

"Yeah. She bit it off," Meredith said, and all three of her fellow interns looked at her with wide eyes.

"She...?" Annabelle trailed off with wide eyes as George visibly cringed. "Wait, she bit it off?"

"Yeah. And the rape kit came back negative, so she's definitely a fighter," Meredith said with a slightly dazed look in her eyes, while the other three interns remained with their eyes wide.

"Wow,"

"Yeah,"

"Talk about taking a bite out of crime," Cristina commented before walking away, and Annabelle chuckled, shaking her head, before sighing as she realized that that was probably all the time she had for a break and that she has to get back to the pit. Which she was not looking forward to at all.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Annabelle asked Cristina as she arrived back at the pit, her brows furrowing in confusion as she noticed the Asian woman standing next to Izzie, who was sitting on a chair, her body slumped forward in exhaustion.

"That's what I'd like to know," Cristina replied as her eyes flickered between Izzie and Mrs. Lu, who was still sitting on the bed Annabelle left her on and started saying something in Chinese again.

"Look, I wouldn't have called you but I still can't get a hold of the translator. Can you just ask her what's wrong?" the blonde pleaded, making Cristina look at her weirdly.

"No," she simply said.

"Why not?" Izzie asked, her voice on the edge of a whine, which Annabelle couldn't blame her for seeing as both of their hands were numb from all the sutures they've done all day.

"Because I grew up in Beverly Hills. The only Chinese I know is from a Mr. Chow's menu. Besides, I'm Korean," Cristina said, before leaving the pit as Annabelle turned to look at Izzie with raised eyebrows.

"Seriously?" was all she could manage to say, and Izzie looked at her.

"What?" she asked, but Annabelle only chuckled in amusement as she walked across the room, taking a chart from a nurse and heading to her next patient.

"Shh, I'm almost done, I'm almost done," Annabelle cooed to a crying five-year-old girl as she stitched up her hand, while the child's mother tried to calm her daughter down. Even though the little girl, Layla, didn't feel any pain since Annabelle numbed her arm from elbow down, she hasn't stopped crying since Annabelle administered the shot - which was to expected since 99.9% of children on the planet absolutely hate needles.

"You're hot," Annabelle heard from a few feet away, and glanced over, only to see Izzie finishing up a suture on a man's wrist. He was around the age of early 30's, and was average in his looks with his plain dark eyes and hair.

"You're drunk, hold still," Izzie simply ordered.

"Alright," Annabelle smiled, putting away the suture kit and giving the little girl a comforting smile. "All done,"

"Thank you," Layla's mother said gratefully, and Annabelle smiled at her as she stood up.

"No problem. Now, all you need to do is see the nurse outside and sign a form or two, and you're free to go," she said, and the mother nodded before picking up her daughter and heading over to the nurses' desk as Annabelle heard Izzie's patient speak up again.

"Wait, you're that... that girl from the... magazine. The r-red bikini," he grinned drunkenly as Annabelle walked over to the closest nurse.

"Bed 4 is free," she said, and the nurse nodded before going to back to work as Annabelle headed over to Izzie.

"Yeah, it was pink," the blonde doctor said in response to her patient, "I'm done, you can see the nurse outside now," she said, just as Annabelle stopped beside her, about to ask if there is any chance they could have a five minute break, only to be stopped by Mrs. Lu, who walked up to the two doctors and began speaking in Chinese once again.

"Is she crazy or something?" Izzie's drunk patient whispered, and Annabelle sighed in annoyance as Izzie tried not to roll her eyes.

"No, I don't think so," she said as politely as she could while she put a hand on his shoulder, steering him away from Mrs. Lu as Annabelle walked over to the Asian woman.

"Please. Please sit down," she pleaded, gesturing to the bed next to them, "I really need to look at your arm," she said, silently sighing in relief as Mrs. Lu followed the instructions. "Thank you,"

Only ten minutes later, Annabelle was all done with Mrs. Lu's arm, just as Izzie came over.

"Hey, you feel like taking a small break?" she asked, and Annabelle sighed in relief.

"Yes, please," she said, before standing up and helping Mrs. Lu do the same as the woman started speaking in Chinese again, "Look, I'm really sorry but I don't have time. We have patients lined up and I just don't understand you, I-I'm sorry," she said, and simply nodded with a small, remorseful smile as Mrs. Lu said something in Chinese one last time before turning around, "Ugh, I hate sending them away like that," Annabelle said to Izzie quietly as they both watched Mrs. Lu leave with a disappointed look on her face.

"Yeah," Izzie sighed. "Me, too,"

"Okay, let's go take that break," Annabelle said after a few more seconds of silence, and Izzie nodded in agreement before they both headed down to one of the corridors in the basement floor of the hospital, the same place where they sat on their first night.

As they arrived, though not before getting themselves cups of coffee, they saw Alex and Cristina sitting on the beds by the wall and George standing by the vending machine.

"We've been suturing all day," Annabelle sighed in exhaustion before nearly collapsing on the bed beside Alex, too tired to care whom she was sitting next to. "My hands are numb,"

"At least you're helping people," George spoke up as Izzie followed Annabelle's lead, throwing herself on the bed next to Cristina, leaning tiredly against the wall.

"At least you get to practice freaking medicine," Alex said.

"We had to send the Chinese lady away," Izzie said as Cristina yawned.

"She was pretty much camped out down there," Annabelle added, her voice still holding the sadness about having to send a distraught patient away, just as Meredith arrived, still carrying the cooler with the severed penis.

"Oh, poor Izzie, poor Annabelle, turning away patients, boohoo," Cristina mocked making Annabelle give her an annoyed look.

"We're doctors. We're supposed to be helping people," she said, "You do know what 'helping' means, right?" she added, unable to help herself, making Cristina give her a sour look, to which she shrugged innocently.

"So the police say they can't send a crime-scene guy down for hours," Meredith spoke up as she threw herself on the bed in between Annabelle and Cristina, pushing her sister a bit closer to Alex, to which the young man grinned suggestively while Annabelle threw him a disgusted look before pushing him away, "So I have to spend the night with the penis," Meredith finished, and Alex raised his eyebrows before leaning over Annabelle to look at the blonde. "Alex, don't say it,"

"Oh, it was too easy, anyway," he said, just as George threw himself on the bed beside Izzie with a sigh.

"Who here feels like they have no idea what they're doing?" he asked loudly and raised his hand, Izzie, Cristina, Meredith, and Annabelle all quickly following. "I mean, are we supposed to be learning something? Because I don't feel like I'm learning anything!"

"Except how not to sleep," Izzie said.

"It's like there's this wall," Cristina spoke up. "The attendings and the residents are over there, being surgeons, and we're over here, being..."

"Suturing, code-running, lab-delivering penis minders," Annabelle and Meredith said at the same time, not paying attention to their colleagues' weird looks. Over the years, they have often said the same thing at the same time, though most people thought it was quite normal after learning that they are twins.

"I hate being an intern," Alex finally said after he and the other interns stopped staring at the two sisters.

Annabelle sighed tiredly as she leaned her head back against the wall, while Alex shifted around so that he could lay down fully, his head ending up on Annabelle's lap.

"Seriously?" the brunette looked down at him, not at all amused.

"Oh, get over it, I'm tired," Alex grumbled, and Annabelle sighed but didn't say anything as she leaned her head back against the wall again, just as Dr. Bailey came into sight. She was walking toward them, but as soon as she saw them sitting - or, in Alex's case, lying down - on the beds, she stopped and raised her eyebrows. After receiving no response, she spread her arms out in a 'what the hell do you think you're doing' gesture, and the interns all quickly scrambled off the beds, Annabelle pushing Alex off of her and almost making him topple down to the floor making him throw her a glare, before running off to their assigned posts once again.

"Anybody else?" Annabelle asked the nurse at the desk in the pit after sighing tiredly, massaging her neck as she and Izzie walked up to the woman.

"No. No more," the nurse replied, and Izzie sighed tiredly in relief.

"I need a bed," she moaned, and Annabelle just shook her head.

"Sing it, sister," she said and they both prepared to finally leave, only to freeze in their tracks as they both caught sight of the all-too-familiar woman.

"Ms. Lu?" they both called out, their brows furrowing in confusion as they watched the woman walk through the hallways, glancing at them every few seconds before finally heading outside. Annabelle looked over at Izzie with a confused look on her face, and the blonde returned the look before they both quickly walked through the room, following the Asian woman.

"Ms. Lu!" Annabelle called out as she and Izzie stepped outside and saw the woman running off towards the parking lot despite the darkness and the heavy rain.

"Ms. Lu, wait! Ms. Lu!" Izzie called out this time as she and Annabelle both stood under the roof in order to shield themselves from the rain.

"What is it?!" Annabelle called out as she saw the older woman gesturing for them to follow her before running off, and the two doctors shared a look before taking a breath and running after her, wrapping their lab coats around themselves tightly to shield themselves from the rain at least the tiniest bit.

As they followed the woman, Izzie and Annabelle realized that it wasn't the parking lot she was running towards but rather the space full of trashcans next to the parking lot. Once they caught up with Mrs. Lu, their brows furrowed in confusion as they saw her talking to someone, though they couldn't see who because the person was holding a cloth to their face.

"Hello?" Izzie called out quietly, confusion lacing her voice as Mrs. Lu turned around to look at the two young women before stepping to the side. The person then removed the cloth from their face, only to reveal themselves to be a young Asian woman with a big, deep, bleeding cut on her forehead.

"Oh, my God," Annabelle and Izzie both breathed out, before rushing forward to kneel in front of the girl.

"It's okay. It's okay," Annabelle assured as she looked at the girl before turning to look at Mrs. Lu, finally realizing what the woman was trying to tell them all this time. "We'll help,"

"Can you look over here?" Izzie asked, holding out her finger and taking out her flashlight out of her pocket while Annabelle moved to examine the wound.

"It's deep," Annabelle informed her colleague as the blonde swiftly completed the neuro exam, "It's deep, so I need to clean it out, okay?" Annabelle spoke up again, trying to gesture the meaning of her words with her hands as she looked at the two Asian women, glancing at Izzie briefly and sighing in relief inaudibly when she nodded, letting her know that they neuro exam was good.

"Machine, it broke in the factory," the young Asian woman suddenly spoke up, her voice heavy with accent but understandable. "It fall,"

"You speak English," Annabelle nodded with a relieved smile.

"Okay, if you could come inside," Izzie spoke up, grabbing the girls arm as she and Annabelle both stood up.

"No, no, no inside. No, no, no jail," the girl protested as the older woman wrapped her arms around her protectively.

"Jail?" Annabelle repeated, confused.

"She came inside," Izzie pointed out, also confused, gesturing to the older woman.

"No, no, she green card. Me, no," the girl said.

"You're illegal," Annabelle realized, and shared a quick look with Izzie.

"That's okay, we don't have to tell them that," the blonde assured. "W-We just need to get you inside, we have to sew that up,"

"No, no inside!" the girl shook her head. "No inside,"

"Please, I promise, I promise you won't go to jail," Izzie pleaded before grabbing the girl's arm as she and Annabelle stood up again, "Just-it's raining, please come inside," she said, pulling the girl to her feet, only for the older woman to wrap her arms around her protectively again as the two protested in Chinese, both on the verge of panic.

"Okay, okay!" Annabelle stepped in, raising her hands to show them that she means no harm as Izzie did the same thing.

"Okay. Not inside," she said, and the two Asian women slumped to the ground again as she and Annabelle looked at each other helplessly.

"You go," Annabelle said after a few seconds, and Izzie nodded. "I'll stay here with them,"

"Wait here. Okay?" the blonde woman turned to Mrs. Lu and the young woman, "Wait with Dr. Grey, I'll come back. I'll be back," she said, before quickly running back to the hospital, while Annabelle crouched in front of the two Asian women.

"It's okay. She'll be right back and then we'll fix you up, okay?" she assured with what she hoped was a comforting smile, and the young girl nodded hesitantly.

Once Izzie came back with the needed supplies, she swiftly cleaned out the girl's wound and numbed her forehead before stepping off to the side and letting Annabelle sew the gash up.

"Alright. You're all sewn up," Annabelle offered the women a small smile as Izzie moved back to crouch before them again, cleaning the wound one more time, trying to get rid of all the blood on her forehead and mostly succeeding. As soon as she finished, Annabelle quickly placed some gauze over the wound and she and Izzie taped it to her forehead, "That's pretty good. We could have done a lot better with some light but..." she trailed off as she and Izzie both took off their gloves, "You may have a scar," the brunette informed, but the young girl only smiled and nodded.

"It's good," she said.

"You're gonna need to come back," Annabelle said. "In five days. Okay?"

"One of us is gonna need to check the wound and remove the stitches," Izzie informed, and the girl nodded in understanding.

"Alright, this..." Annabelle took a small card out of her pocket and pointed to a number printed on it. "Is my pager number. Right here. Okay? We'll meet right back here, okay?" she said as she and Izzie both helped them up to their feet. "You have to come back,"

"But you can't tell anybody that we helped you outside the hospital or we might lose our jobs," Izzie said, and Annabelle nodded, mentally slapping herself for almost completely forgetting about that very important small detail. "Understand?"

"Yes. Come back and don't tell," the young girl repeated, and the doctors nodded with smiles on their faces.

"Exactly," Annabelle smiled.

"Okay. That's it, we're done. You can go," Izzie smiled. "We'll see you in five days,"

"Yes, see you," the girl said, before she and Mrs. Lu walked away, leaving the two doctors to stare after them with small smiles on their faces before Mrs. Lu turned back and started speaking in Chinese again, shaking both of their hands with a grateful smile on her face.

"Thank you," Izzie smiled before she and Annabelle watched the two walk away again, the young girl waving with a small smile, "So this is what it's really about, huh?" Izzie suddenly spoke up after a minute of silence, and Annabelle glanced at her before going back to staring after the two women again.

"Yeah, I guess so," she breathed out, the smile on her lips growing the tiniest bit.

"I need a drink, a man, or a massage," Cristina spoke up from where she was lying on a bench in the locker room. George was currently brushing his teeth and Izzie was asleep on one of the benches.

"Or a massage by a hot, drunken man," Annabelle spoke up from her place on the floor where she was leaning against the lockers, her voice tired as Cristina hummed in agreement while putting on her scrub top again.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked after a few seconds, catching George's eyes in the mirror.

"I lost five patients on the code team today," he replied. "I feel like the angel of death,"

"George, 95% of code patients can't be revived," Annabelle spoke up, hoisting herself up on her feet with the help of the lockers while George turned to look at her with wide eyes before looking at Cristina.

"Why didn't you tell me that when I was going on and on about how great it was gonna be?" he asked, accusation clear in his eyes and tone, and Cristina closed her locker before turning to look at him.

"Because... you're George, and I'm Cristina,"

"How is she?" Meredith asked as she walked up to Derek, who was sitting on a chair in front of the room, looking at the rape victim.

"No change," Derek replied grimly.

"Have you been here all night?" Meredith asked, half curiously and half disbelievingly.

"Mm-hmm... Yep. You know, I have four sisters? Very girly, tons of kids. If I was in a coma, the'd all be here. I'd want them here. Not having no one? Can't imagine that," Derek said as Meredith continued to look at the patient.

"I can," she said, half in a daze.

"What are you talking about? What about your mother?" Derek asked, confused. "She'd be here ordering all the surgeons around. She'd fly these cowboys in from Prague to do these amazing medical procedures.

"That's true," Meredith finally nodded. "I do have my mother,"

"And what about your sister? Annabelle?"

"Yeah, I do have her, too," Meredith nodded. "Except she's my little sister. Sure, there's only like a five minute difference between us but... she was always my responsibility. It was always my job to look after her, to take care of her. I don't think I could suddenly turn everything around and just demand for her to look after me,"

"You and Annabelle are twins?" Derek asked, deciding to not say anything else about what she revealed about her life and just go for the easy and light questions.

"Yeah," Meredith sighed, nodding with a small smile.

At one point, you have to make a decision. Boundaries don't keep other people out. They fence you in. Life is messy. That's how we're made.

Annabelle, Meredith, George, Izzie, and Cristina were all standing on the peds floor, watching the baby whose life Meredith saved. The said Grey then looked over at her sister, who nodded.

"Okay, fine," she spoke up. "George and Izzie, you can move into the house,"

"Yes!" George yelled nearly jumping up and down. "Yes!"

"I can't believe you caved!" Izzie squealed as George hugged Meredith and Annabelle tightly, nearly squishing them.

"Thank you," he said, before turning around and fist pumping in the air. "Yes!"

"I can't believe I caved," Meredith said more to herself than others as Izzie and George danced down the hallway.

"I blame the babies. They make you toxic," Cristina said.

So, you can waste your life drawing lines... or you can live your life crossing them. Here's what I know. If you're willing to take the chance... the view from the other side... is spectacular.

A/N: Hope you all liked reading the chapter as much as I did writing it! It was really interesting writing Meredith and Annabelle's relationship and the relationship Annabelle has with their mother. Next chapter onwards we'll get to some actual relationship-developing with one character in particular, starting with Winning a Battle, Losing the War. I want to take season 1 to establish Annabelle's relationship with everyone at Seattle Grace. I hope you liked the little insight on Meredith and Annabelle's childhood.

I used this chapter to show that Annabelle won't always just be a part of everything that Meredith does. The only reason I did that in the last chapter was because that was the first episode and Meredith is the main character of the show, and the only way for us to meet everyone was through Meredith, and I especially needed Annabelle to meet Alex sooner rather than later. What's amazing about Grey's is that every character has an individual story, and I can put Annabelle anywhere, not just where Meredith is.

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed the chapter and don't forget to review!