So, I have some stuff to say. 1. Drsnvamps is back co-writing with me so hurray! 2. In this story, the plane crash never happened, obviously since Mark and Lexie are still alive and stuff. However, in order to keep things fresh, we're going to have the interns in this story now. You'll see why by the end of this chapter. 3. Okay. That's everything. Don't forget to let us know what you think!
Alice peered at the book in front of her with a slight frown on her face. "Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for PTSD: A Case Formulation Approach," suspicion coloured Alice's tone, and she glanced back up at Dr. Turner who sat in the chair opposite the table where the book lay. "You're trying to tell me that a book is the solution to my problems?"
Violet reached out and nudged the book towards the sassy teenager. "Nope, not at all. Firstly, this 'book' is nothing to sneer at. It was a huge tool in my recovery, and if you give it a chance, I am sure that it will become an asset in yours. Moreover, sitting in therapy for an hour each week isn't going to be a magic fix for you, or anyone for that matter. You're going to need to do a lot of work on your own, outside of here in order to fully recover. You're a tough cookie, but this is in no means going to be quick and easy. That's why I recommend this book- the exercises, as cheesy as they sound, are really great tools for coping with flashbacks, anxiety, etc." Violet sat back and clasped her hands, having seemingly pled her case. Alice chewed her lip and hesitated, but after a moment she reached out and took the thick paperback.
"Cause it's not like I have anything better to do with my free time, like say oh, go to the beach or hang out on the boardwalk." Although the teen's tone was bitingly sarcastic, Violet nodded in approval. After six weeks of sessions, the therapist had come to recognize Alice's attitude as a defense mechanism, rather than genuine insult.
Rather than continuing to push the book with Alice, Violet decided to switch topics. The free-spirited teen accepted new things much more easily when they were her terms. Figuring that Alice's curiosity would tempt her to check over the book, she led the conversation in an entirely new direction. "So, school starts tomorrow for you right?" Alice sighed and ran her hand through her freshly highlighted blonde locks.
"I've had the First Day Jitters since yesterday," she admitted "I missed a good half of my sophomore year and all of grade eleven, and to add injury to insult I am also the new kid." The older brunette shot her a sympathetic smile and glanced at the watch on her wrist.
"I hate to cut things off like this, but we've run over the hour and my next client is super punctual, to put it lightly. Try to go into tomorrow with an open mind- you're a bright girl, Alice The work will be a breeze, and it's the first day for everyone so everyone will be in the same boat as you, meeting new classmates and such. Who knows, maybe you'll even enjoy it- anything beats sitting around the practice all day, right?" Violet smirked playfully as she held open the door for Alice while also waving her next client in. Alice rolled her eyes but gave a small half smile and a wave as she headed out of the psych section of the building and into the main lobby.
Shoving the thick paperback into her bag, Alice hustled to the stairs, taking them two at a time as she rushed to catch the 5:05 bus back to the beach house. She pushed through the revolving doors and stepped onto the cobblestone sidewalk. Squinting against the sun, she caught sight of the bus driving down the street towards the stop she needed. Cursing under her breath, Alice booked it and made it to the stop just as the bus was pulling up. "Good timing, kid." The driver noted as Alice tapped her pass. Alice nodded and reached for a nearby bar; the seats already full of commuters who had ducked out of their work day early. The continual stop-and-go traffic of the busy downtown LA streets made the bus ride agonizingly slow, and Alice couldn't help but fill the time by playing various scenarios of her first day out in her head, none of which were pleasant.
The bus jarred to a halt, pulling Alice out of her daydreams. She gathered her stuff and hopped off, welcoming the walk from the stop to her house as a chance to stretch her stiff legs. As she rounded the corner and spotted the driveway, her eyes widened in surprise as she saw Addison's navy BMW already parked. It was rare that either of the doctors beat her home.
"There she is. What took you so long, I were starting to get worried." Addison chuckled upon Alice entering the doorway. The teenager rolled her eyes, knowing that the older woman was just a tiny bit proud of the fact she had beaten her home for once. Shrugging, she set her bag and new book down on the counter and hopped up onto the stool.
"My appointment went a little over. I almost missed the bus." Addison set a plate of Alfredo pasta in front of the girl and quickly followed with a set of silverware. Both she and Amelia had been insanely relieved that Alice had started to eat again. In the past few weeks, the teenager had managed to lose the skeleton look, and was starting to look like the cheerleader that Lexie had found a long time ago. After a hesitant decision, Addison and Amelia had decided they would allow her to go running by herself every evening, and so far the teen hadn't taken advantage of them.
"I see. By the way, Lexie called earlier. She said she's off tonight, so if you won't to give her a call, I'm sure she'll pick up." Addison responded. She watched as Alice practically threw her silverware down and bolted towards the phone, mouth still half full of noodles. The teenager had her former guardian's number dialed in seconds and waited anxiously for her to pick up. Finally, just as she thought she was about to get the surgeon's voicemail, Alice heard Lexie's voice on the other end of the line.
"Hey kiddo! Sorry it took so long to get a hold of you. Things have been crazy in Seattle." Lexie's voice sounded practically breathless, leaving Alice to assume that the woman had practically sprinted to pick up the phone.
"It's okay. Everything good over there?" Alice asked, masking her eagerness to talk to the older woman.
"Everything's great over here. Amelia told me you're starting a new school tomorrow?"
"Yeah. I'm kind of nervous about it, but it's whatever."
"I'm sure it'll be great. And please pick the right friends at this one. No new Chip." There was a hint of playfulness to Lexie's warning, but it made Alice blush nonetheless. The teen had been working on ignoring her past and Chip played a big part of some of the worst memories.
"I promise. Look, I have to go. Addison and I were having dinner. I'll talk to you later." Alice said abruptly. She could hear the surprise in Lexie's goodbye as she hung up the phone, intent of focusing on something else rather than the flood of memories that Chip had brought back.
Alice glanced around warily as she stepped into the crowded school hallway she had been trying to avoid leaving the guidance counselor's office for. The teenager had spent the better part of her morning figuring out her schedule with the middle aged woman, and trying to explain how she needed to be placed into the next grade up since she had completed her 11th grade courses on line back in Seattle. Eventually the woman managed to comprehend Alice's requests and handed her a freshly printed schedule and a map of the school. So there she was, being jostled in between the many other students all making their way to their own classes, while she desperately attempted to find her senior year biology class on her map.
"Looking for something?" A voice that was surprisingly close to Alice's ear asked, causing her to jump. She turned her head to find herself staring into a pair of piercing green eyes. The teen struggled for a few seconds to manage the words she was looking for.
"Um, yeah actually. Mr. Heller's 12th grade bio?" She finally spit out. The girl currently walking next to her made Anna look like nothing, and Alice was struggling to keep her face from turning an even darker shade of red.
"What a coincidence, that's my next class. Come on, I'll take you."
Please do, Alice thought to herself, a tiny smirk playing at her lips as the girl grabbed her arm and led her down a significantly less crowded hallway. Now that she didn't have to focus on dodging an oncoming river of students, Alice finally got the chance to look her companion over. The seemingly older teen wore dangerously tight black jeans, lace-up boots with plaid adorning the folded down flaps, and a red and black checkered shirt over a dark grey tank-top. Her lips were the kind of red that illuminated smirks, with the perfume to match. Alice couldn't help but notice the way the girl ran her fingers through her seemingly endless amount of hair. It was when she turned her attention back to her mouth that Alice realized she was being asked something.
"Sorry, what was that?" The Washington-native stammered, feeling heat rise to her cheeks.
"I said, I'm Elle, and you're new to LA, right?" She chuckled, pulling Alice to the left and into a classroom.
"Oh, right. Yeah, I'm new. And I'm Alice." The two girls sat down at a lab table together and before Lauren could reply, the bell rang. Within seconds, a seemingly ancient man stepped into the classroom and took a seat at the desk in front.
"Well, I hope you all like who you're sitting with, because they're going to be your lab partner for the rest of the year. This is a senior class, and I really, really hope you don't make me regret my decision to let you pick your own seats." He announced, shooting a glance towards the boys in the back of the classroom. Alice shot her own glance at her new lab partner, who was already staring back at her unabashedly
"Since it's the first day and I'm hoping you're all capable of reading, all I ask that you do today is at least glance at your syllabuses before gossiping about what you did this summer." The teacher's voice was laced with a tone that told all of them he knew they wouldn't, and the moment he had finished, the room erupted into various conversations.
"So, new Alice, what's your story? Where are you from?" Alice felt her stomach twist at the questions and struggled to think of the response she had come up with the previous night.
"Uh, I'm from Seattle. I had been getting into a little bit of trouble and my, um, aunt that I was living with at the time decided to send me out here to get a fresh start." Knowing that what she said wasn't a total lie, Alice was pleased with her response. Lauren cocked her head to the side and smirked a bit.
"So should I be watching out for you or?"
"No, no, nothing like that. Just some…some family trouble." Alice forced a laugh in an attempt to keep things light and prayed that Lauren would drop the subject. To her relief, the senior seemed to pick up on it.
"So what do you think of L.A.?"
"It's a lot sunnier than Seattle. A lot of weird people too. But I like it so far. It's nice being close to a beach." Alice shrugged, glancing at the clock on the wall. She still had another half an hour with this girl, and she was praying she could actually get through it without letting Elle onto the fact she was in L.A. for reasons that were a bit more serious than she had let on to. God knows it would be nice to have at least one friend other than Mason.
"So how was your first day, New Alice?" Alice found herself jumping once again as the same voice from earlier in the day came from just beside her ear. She quickly composed herself and turned around to come face with Elle. The girl had been on Alice's mind all day, and the prospect that she might actually have someone to hang out with other than doctors seemed unreal. Quite frankly, Elle was going to be her first actual friend since Chip.
"Alright. High schools really don't change that much, no matter where they are." The senior shrugged, grabbing her bag from her locker and then slamming the door shut. She watched carefully as Elle followed her down the hallway, wondering what the other teenager's angle was now.
"So are you going to give me your number or do I have to wait until Mr. Heller gives me an excuse to ask?" The brunette asked bluntly. Alice blushed a bit before taking the iPhone that was being held out to her and quickly clicking in her digits. The smirk that somehow always seemed to be playing on Elle's lips became a little bolder and she slid her phone into her pocket.
"Next up on my request list is that you come get a coffee with me. There's a Starbucks right across the street." Alice couldn't help but grit her teeth as she recalled the last girl she had had Starbucks with. Shooing the memories away, she promised herself that it wasn't going to be like that. Elle was a friend, and nothing more.
"Sure." The younger girl replied. She pulled out her own phone and quickly shot a text to Amelia, knowing that she would probably trust her a bit more than Addison.
"So what's Seattle like?" Alice was pulled out of her own thoughts at the question and thought for a minute. Other than the house of doctors, Seattle didn't hold a lot of happy memories for her.
"Well, it's not exactly my favorite place. It rains all the time, and there's not a lot to do. Lex-my aunt is a surgeon, so she wasn't really home a lot. I had a lot of downtime." Alice explained as the two of them made their way across the street and into the small cafe. It was relatively slow, considering it was a bit early for the after-work rush.
"So no boyfriend back home to compete with all these Cali guys?" The older girl inquired. Alice scoffed and shook her head.
"No boyfriend doesn't even begin to cover it." She murmured before placing her drink order with the barista. Elle stepped forward and did the same, smiling in thanks as Alice paid for them both.
"Ok, here it is. Jerry and Lisa Marino. Well that...that was less exciting than I thought it would be." Wilson shrugged, staring at her birth certificate. One glance towards Alex, who was sprawled on the bed beside her, suggested otherwise.
"What did you say their names were again? Jerry and-"
"Jerry and Lisa Marino. Why, did you know them?" Jo was starting to panic at the confused frown on her boyfriend's face. When it suddenly changed to a look of realization, Alex leapt up off of the bed and shook his head angrily.
"Oh my God. I can't believe they fucking abandoned you too." He spat out, pacing back and forth in the small bedroom. Jo was at a complete loss.
"Alex, just tell me what's going on." She begged, staring back down at her birth certificate. The man finally sat back down on the bed beside her and sighed.
"You know that girl in the picture on the fridge? The one with Mark and Lexie?" Jo nodded in understanding and Alex hesitated before continuing.
"Her name is Alice and Lexie had been taking care of her ever since...ever since her parents nearly killed her and dumped her at the hospital. And her parents were Jerry and Lisa Marino. Jo, I'm so sorry." Alex pulled the brunette into a hug as she attempted to mask her horrified expression.
"I knew I shouldn't have found out. I knew it." The doctor murmured, blinking tears from her eyes.
"No, maybe it's good that you did. I mean, now you know about Alice. Maybe you two should get to know each other." Alex suggested lightly. He felt Jo pull back in his arms and released her.
"Well if she's not with Lexie and Mark anymore, where is she?" Jo questioned, realizing that she had never once seen the girl.
"Alice, um, got into some trouble after the thing with her parents. Drugs actually. She's in LA with Derek's sister to get clean. From what I've heard, she's been doing really well." Alex explained as lightly as he could. Nevertheless, a look of uncertainty crossed her girlfriend's features.
"Is she going to want to get in touch? Especially if she's recovering?" Alex shrugged and pulled out his cellphone.
"I don't know. Why don't we call her?"
"Consider it my thank-you for saving me from the new girl humiliation that is getting lost on your way to class." Alice was just about to close her app and tuck her phone back when a call popped up. Alice frowned slightly at the caller ID, wondering why Karev would be phoning her out of the blue. Deciding that it must be important, she smiled apologetically at Elle and hurried to a secluded corner of the café to take the call.
"Hello?" She answered in a somewhat hushed tone.
"Alice- hey, it's Karev. Listen, I'm sorry to bug you but I was hoping you had some time to talk? It's kind of important." Instantly, Alice felt her mind start to race as a million worst-case scenarios ran through her head.
"What's wrong? Is someone hurt? Lexie, Mark, Arizo-"
"No, nothing like that," Karev put her rambling to a halt, "I've just come across some… information that I think you need to hear." He chose his words carefully as so to not give anything away prematurely.
"Uh, alright? Now's not the best time, I'm out. Can I call back later?" Alice chewed her lip, waiting as the muffled exchange of voices filled the speaker, conversation that she couldn't quite make out.
"I'm due for a shift in two hours. Can you get back to me before then?"
Alice stifled a sigh, realizing that she had to cut her impromptu coffee date with her new friend short.
"Yeah, I'll call you later. Bye." She hung up the phone in annoyance, not giving Karev a chance to respond. Alice made her way over to where Elle was standing with two iced lattes in clutch. She carefully grasped hers and sat on a nearby chair, letting her bag clatter to the floor.
"I'm so sorry I had to take that. I can't really stay awhile, something has come up and I need to get back to my place to take care of it." Alice made sure that regret colored her tone, not wanting it to sound like she was just ditching Elle for some other offer. The other girl's green eyes searched her face for a moment, looking for signs of insincerity. Eventually, she nodded in understanding.
"No problem, stuff happens. Rain check?" Alice nodded earnestly.
"Definitely." Elle glanced at the wall clock, and gathered her things.
"Don't let me hold you up. You can probably catch the next bus out if you leave now. "
"Yeah, thanks. I'm really sorry, again." Alice said regretfully, as she made her way to the door.
"It's fine, really. See you in class tomorrow." Elle called over her shoulder as she headed down the opposite sidewalk from Alice. The teen sighed to herself and shook her head, but hurried to the terminal to catch her bus.
Half an hour later, Alice pushed open the front door and kicked off her sandals. If there was one thing she loved about LA, it was the blissful heat. She headed up to her room and shut her door, not bothering to chat with anyone that might be home. Digging her iphone from her pocket, she took a deep breath to fight off the anxiety and anticipation before tapping Karev's name from her recent list. The phone only rang once before he picked up; clearly he was waiting on her.
"Hey kid. How's it going?"
Alice frowned. It wasn't like Karev to get rattled, and yet he sounded tense and nervous
"Alright I guess, you? What's going on?"Alex sighed heavily.
"So, here's the thing. You know that I'm with Jo, right? Jo Wilson, she's an intern at SGMW."
"Mmhm, I know her. Please tell me you didn't interrupt my day for love advice." Alice's voice was riddled with annoyance.
"No, no, nothing like that. She and I...she and I are good."
"Okay then, why are we talking about her?" Alice sighed, losing her patience by the second.
"Because...because she's kind of your biological sister." Alex blurted out. Alice frowned in confusion as she heard what sounded like a muffled smack on the other end of the phone. Incoherent whispering buzzed over the line as the teenager struggled to process what Karev had just said.
"What the hell are you talking about? I'm an only child, thank God." Alice heard Alex sigh on the other end of the phone and her heart started racing.
"Your, uh, parents gave her up for adoption before you were born. She grew up a foster kid. Look, I think you should really meet her. You'd like Jo." Alice was silent for a few seconds before shaking her head.
"Alex, I don't have a good track record with family-"
"Neither does she. Just give this a chance kid. It could be good for you. Plus you'd get a chance to see Lexie and her baby bump-"
"Her what?" Alex's eyes widened in realization and Jo looked at him in concern.
"You didn't know she was pregnant?" The man asked awkwardly. Several seconds of silence later, Alice answered.
"No. Somehow she failed to mention anything about that. How far along is she?" Alex could hear the hurt in the teenager's voice and ran his hand through his short hair.
"A few months. I'm sure she was just waiting for the right time." He offered weakly.
"I'm sure. But yeah, I'd love to come out and meet her. You're just going to have to convince everyone I'm allowed to come home for a bit."
"And why would you need to go home?" Alice whirled around as Addison's voice came from behind her. The teenager rolled her eyes, knowing how suspicious she probably sounded to the redhead.
"You know what, you're not going to believe this from me. Just talk to Alex." Alice handed over her phone to the neo-natal surgeon and stalked out of the room.