Hey, sorry for the wait, but here's an extra long chapter to make up for it! Please review and let us know what you think!

Ten minutes later, Alice was struggling just to focus on anything for more than two seconds. Her heart was pounding in her chest and instead of feeling relaxed, she felt like she was about to launch into a full scale panic attack. The teenager stared out her dark window for at least a half an hour, trying to keep her breathing under control, before finally giving into an impulse an pulling out her phone. Scrolling through her contacts, Alice managed to click on Amelia's name with a clumsy hand and held the iPhone up to her ear.

"Hello? Alice? Is everything alright?"

"Amelia I'm high." Alice clenched her eyes shut as the words left her mouth. There was about a three second time delay between what she was doing and what she was thinking and her mind was trying desperately to catch up.

"What? Alice, what did you take? Who are you with?" The surgeon demanded quickly.

"I didn't take anything. I just...I found some pot in my dresser and I'm having a really bad high. I'm freaking out."

"Who are you with? Does Lexie know?"

"There's no one in my room right now. Lexie's at her apartment with Mark." Amelia sighed on the other end of the phone. Talking to a stoned teenager was a true test of patience.

"But who are you staying with? Are you at Meredith's old house?" Alice nodded for several seconds before remembering that the older woman could not in fact see her.

"Yeah. Just Alex and Jo live here now. I think they're asleep."

"Okay. We can talk about this in the morning. Just get rid of the rest of what you have and go to sleep." Amelia's rationality about the situation was somehow managing to calm Alice down and she nodded once again.

"Alright. Don't tell Jo. I don't want her...I don't want her to ever know this part of me." Alice admitted quietly. There were a few seconds of silence between her and Amelia.

"We'll come up with a plan in the morning. Just sleep this off."

"Okay. Bye." Alice hung up the phone and then turned back towards the window. She crossed the room unsteadily and sat down on the ledge again, staring at the small pile of paraphernalia next to her. Maybe another bowl would make her feel better.

Three bowls later, Alice could hardly remember how to breathe, let alone stand. The teenager's eyelids were drooping and she slowly lowered herself down off of the window sill before crawling across the floor into bed.

The bantering of voices slowly dragged Alice from her sleep. Gradually regaining consciousness, she began to distinguish Alex's voice from Jo's and make out bits of the conversation, which appeared to be happening not too far outside her door. Her iPhone sat on the nightstand beside her, buzzing incessantly. Squinting against the daylight flooding in from the drawn curtains from her earlier transgressions, she snatched her phone and winced as she saw the slew of missed calls, voicemails and messages. Most of them were from Amelia and a couple from Lexie but the last text grabbed her attention- it was from Elle. Alice felt a small smile spread across her face as she read the message; it was nothing super elaborate but the fact that Elle was at least initiating conversation and checking in meant that she hadn't totally blown it. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knocking at her door.

"Hey, Alice? It's almost 11 o'clock- I know you're probably recovering from jet lag and all but you haven't moved since last night so if you could just give me some sort of sign that you're alive that would be great…" The groggy teen cleared her throat, mustering up the energy to form a coherent reply.

"Yeah I'm fine, I'll be down in a bit." Apparently satisfied with her answer, the couple backed off, leaving the teen to herself. Alice kicked off her covers and stumbled into the bathroom next door, splashing some cold water on her face in hopes to wake herself up. Just because she felt like shit, didn't mean that she could afford to look like it too and raise suspicions. Deciding she looked halfway presentable, Alice closed her bedroom door to hide the evidence of last night's events and made her way down to the kitchen. The front door came into view just as Jo was tossing on a coat and making her way out.

"I thought you weren't scheduled today?" Alice asked, making her sister pause in her tracks.

"I'm on call though, and the hospital is swamped. Duty calls." Jo smiled apologetically, gathering her things. Alice watched her hesitate, clearly not wanting to upset their fragile relationship. Alice waved it off, shooting the resident a reassuring smile.

"I've lived with surgeons for well over a year. I get it, go be awesome and try not to kill anyone." Jo rolled her eyes playfully, and with that headed out the door. Continuing to the kitchen, a preoccupied Alice nearly bumped into Alex who was hurrying through the hall and for the stairs himself.

"Sorry kid- I'll be upstairs if you need me, gotta find something for Mer. There's a fresh pot of coffee waiting on the counter though."

Alice waited until Alex had disappeared up the stairs before pulling her phone out of her pocket and dialing Amelia's number. The neurosurgeon picked up on the second ring, obviously waiting for her to return the call.

"Are you okay? You didn't do anything else last night, right?" Amelia demanded quickly, not even giving Alice the chance to say 'hello'.

"I'm fine. I...I smoked more after I hung up the phone, but that was it." Alice replied quietly, walking into the kitchen just to double check that she was alone. The teenager wasn't quite used to seeing the house so empty.

"God, Alice, did you even get rid of it yet?" The sigh that the teenager responded with was enough of an answer for her. Amelia barely suppressed one of her own before taking a deep breath.

"Do I need to come out there or can you handle this? You need to tell Lexie-"

"No Lexie. Amelia, she's pregnant and she's happy I'm here and she's happy I've been doing so well. Anyone but Lexie. Or Jo." Alice cut the surgeon off frantically. There were a few seconds of fuzzy silence on the line.

"Did you smoke because of your sister? Did things go alright?" Amelia asked carefully.

"No, no, everything went fine with her. I told her the PG version of what happened and we talked and it was fine. I just found the bag by accident and I couldn't help it-"

"What the hell is this?" Alice whirled around to see Alex standing in the kitchen doorway with her pipe and stash clutched in his fist. The teenager felt her heart drop and then nearly lost her grip on her phone.

"Amelia, I have to call you back. Just...just call Callie or Arizona if you can. They're good with this." The brunette murmured before hanging up the device. Alex was staring her down, face turning a deeper shade of red by the second, and Alice struggled to repress the instinctive fear that was building in the back of her mind.

"I found it in my drawer last night. I didn't know it was in there. I called Amelia as soon as it happened and you can ask her if you don't believe me. I just...I couldn't know it was in there and not do it. I'm sorry. Please don't tell Jo. Please." Alice begged, crossing the kitchen to look Alex in the eye. The surgeon's glare wavered and he searched Alice's face for any sign of insincerity.

"You can't do this to her, Alice. You can't do it to yourself either, but you really can't do this to her. She's never had family before and she's so excited about you. Don't destroy yourself again, and especially don't do it in front of Jo." Alice clenched her eyes shut as a wave of guilt hit her.

"I'm not trying to. I didn't come here and expect to find that. I've been clean since I left."

"I know you have. We've all been so proud of you for that. Especially Lexie. You've got to stay on track for her and for her baby and for Mark. Because I know they miss you and they want you to be able to come home-"

"Alex! Enough with the guilt! I feel bad enough already and I owned up to what happened. I'll probably be staying with Callie and Arizona tonight and I'm sure there's nothing there, so it's fine. Everyone who needs to know, knows. Just drop it." Alice snapped before reaching out and grabbing the bag of weed. Alex sputtered in protest, chasing after the teenager as she hurried down the hallway. However, once he realized Alice was heading for the bathroom, he stopped and watched as she flushed the baggie down the toilet. Maybe she was completely serious.

"Just get rid of the pipe before Jo gets home. I'm going to call Lexie and see if she wants to do anything today." The teenager sighed. Alice brushed past Alex and headed back into the kitchen. Much to her dismay, he followed her.

"She's not going to be mad at you. Jo's not like that." Alex pointed out. He got silence in return as Alice poured herself a cup of coffee and then retreated upstairs.

"Hey babe." Jo smiled, kicking off her shoes as she entered the old resident's house. She found her boyfriend sitting at the kitchen counter, digging into a colossal bowl of cereal. He glanced up and nodded at her before shoving another spoonful into his mouth. Jo frowned in confusion.

"Where's Alice? Is...is something wrong?" The brunette asked nervously. Her anxiety jumped when Alex didn't respond right away.

"She's fine. Callie and Arizona have her. You can't get mad at her when I tell you this, okay? She can't handle that and a lot of what happened really wasn't her fault." The pediatric surgeon started out carefully. His girlfriend nodded in agreement, concern lacing her features, and waited for him to go on.

"Last night Alice found a bag of weed in her room. None of us bothered searching her room after she left and I honestly don't think she knew it was in there before she stumbled across it. As soon as she messed up, she called Derek's sister and owned up to it. She really didn't want me to tell you, but I couldn't hide it." Alex explained carefully. Much to his relief, Jo nodded and sat down next to him.

"But she's okay?"

"Yeah. I think it shook her up a bit but she's handling it really well. And we're not telling Lexie. She wants to keep her stress levels to a minimum because of the pregnancy and I kind of agree with her." Alex replied honestly. The two of them were silent for a few seconds before Jo spoke.

"I was hoping I could see her again tonight. She's only going to be here for a few more days." The younger of the two sighed.

"Well why don't I call Callie and Arizona and see if it's alright if we drop over? I'm sure they wouldn't mind and Alice needs to see that you're not going to hate her when she messes up."

"She thinks I'm going to hate her?" Jo's voice had a touch of hurt in it and Alex took a deep breath, wondering if this had been a bad idea after all.

"Alice automatically thinks everyone is going to hate her. You can't take it to heart. It's just in her nature still. All you can do is prove to her that you're not going to. And showing up for her even when she's trying to avoid you is how you're going to show her that." He pointed out. A little hesitantly, Jo nodded and pulled out her phone before dialing Arizona's number and handing it to Alex.

Arizona glanced at her ringing phone, seeing Alex's name flash across the caller ID. Mindful of Alice's presence on the neighboring couch, the surgeon feigned a medical call and excused herself to the other room where Alice wouldn't be able to hear the conversation. Arizona suspected that the independent teen wouldn't take too kindly to being checked in on by anyone, and especially Alex at that.

"Hey, Karev."

"Yeah, hi Robbins. How's she doing?" Alex brushed pass any pleasantries as his girlfriend waited beside him, growing more anxious by the passing minutes.

"She's alright, distracting herself with homework for now. How are things over there? How did Jo react?"

"Fine, she took it in stride. She's mostly disappointed that she might lose out on already limited time with Alice and was wondering if she could drop by and spend some time with her?"

Arizona hesitated, worried that Alice might put up her walls and shut everyone out because of her self-inflicted shame. "I'll be super careful about what I say, I promise. I just don't want her to think that I'm going to turn my back on her because of this." Jo's pleading voice filled the line this time.

"I suppose you're right. C'mon over then." Arizona lamented at last.

Twenty minutes later, a hesitant knock sounded at the door. "Hey, Alice!" Arizona was nearly shouting to get the teenager's attention over the music that was blasting in her headphones. Startled, Alice glanced up in irritation.

"What is it?" She yanked an earbud out.

"I have to go pick up some stuff for dinner tonight, so Jo is here to hang out for a bit." Shock registered on Alice's face, which then quickly shifted back into annoyance.

"I don't need a babysitter." She huffed, before turning her attention back to her work. Well aware of Alice's defensive quirks, the surgeon continued to the hallway and greeted the resident at the door.

Alice listened to the idle conversation that took place between Jo and Arizona at the entrance. A few moments later, the door clicked shut as the paeds surgeon left, with Jo making her way into the living room where Alice was situated.

"Hey," Jo broke the silence, coming to sit on the sofa beside Alice. The teen, who was scowling in frustration at her workbook, finally glanced up and acknowledged her sister with a brief smile.

"Isn't babysitting a bit below your surgical residency pay grade?" Her tone was light and humorous, but she completely avoided eye contact, clearly humiliated.

"You know that's not why I'm here." Jo's voice trailed off as her eyes wandered to the problem that Alice was stuck on. "Oh God, I loved the stoichiometry units." Alice gaped at her sister as if she had three heads.

"Wanna give this one a go then? I've been stuck for like half an hour." She angled the workbook towards the surgeon who studied the question and Alice's work for a few moments.

"You've got the formula right; it's just your significant figures that are off." For the next twenty minutes, the pair powered through the remainder of Alice's homework.

"Thanks for the help. Usually I'm good with this kind of stuff." Alice closed her notebook and shoved it into the backpack at her feet. Truthfully, she would have been able to get through the rest of the homework quite easily, but accepted Jo's help for the simple fact that it meant they wouldn't have to talk about personal things. Her stomach twisted anxiously at the various uncomfortable directions that their conversation could take.

"Alex told me about what happened-"

"Why the hell would he do that?" Alice stood up off the couch the second the words left her sister's mouth and she quickly distanced herself to the other side of the living room. Jo sighed as she remembered what Alex had told her in the car on the ride over.

"She's going to get really defensive about this. Alice feels like everyone is out to get her, with good reason. She and Lexie used to go at it all the time because I don't think she could really trust that anyone was trying to help her. So just, you know, don't let her convince herself that you're the bad guy." Alex advised, pulling his seat belt over his chest and then revving his car's engine to life. Jo chewed on her bottom lip anxiously and nodded.

"I think...I think what she told me about her past wasn't the whole truth. Like she mentioned all the things you did, but with the way everyone acts about it, I just get the feeling that things were worse than what she let onto." The young surgeon admitted, finally owning up to the uneasiness she had about what she had been told. Alex was silent for a few seconds before replying.

"I'm just going to tell you. She's going to be pissed at me, but I don't want her being able to hide things from you. Alice was a hardcore oxy addict. It took Callie, Arizona, Jessica, and Lexie locking her in an apartment to get her clean and from what they've told me, it was a nightmare. She was stubborn and desperate and gave everyone a hell of a time. And then things were good for a while, until her girlfriend broke up with her."

"Wait, wait, what? She's into girls?" Jo cut in, confusion written all over her face. Somehow she felt even more out of the loop.

"Well, yeah. Actually, I think she's into guys and girls. She was with some hippie stoner dude for a while. But anyways, this girl dumped her and Alice ended up with that guy and she overdosed on heroin." Silence rested in between the couple for a few seconds.

"Oh my God. God, Alex, I should have been there for her. I should have tracked down my parents sooner and found her and got her away from them. What did they do to her, honestly? It had to be bad enough for them to leave town and not come back." This time, Alex was silent a lot longer before he answered.

"The first night, they dumped her at the ER and she barely drug herself inside. Robbins and Torres were the only ones she'd let touch her, but they had to find Lexie before she actually calmed down enough to let them examine her. Her dad cut her up with a fucking knife. All over; arms, legs, stomach. She had broken ribs and a dislocated shoulder and her eyes were practically swollen shut. That night is why you're never going to see her in short sleeves." Alex's eyes had darkened and Jo watched as he gripped the steering wheel tighter. The brunette was forced to swallow the lump in her throat before she could speak.

"And the second night?"

"She and Lexie had gotten into an argument about something and Alice went out for a run to clear her head. That kid loves running. But Lisa drove up to her on her route. They must have been watching her for a while. She built up some fake sob story that she had changed and wanted Alice to come back and live with her. So she went back to her apartment with her and they beat the shit out of her again. Knocked her out with a damn vase. Lex had to hold her while she got the glass picked out of her head. We found her dumped outside the house the next morning. She was out there in the cold all night before Robbins found her on her way to get the paper the next morning. After that, the drugs just got worse and worse." Alex turned onto Callie and Arizona's street and parked outside their apartment building. He killed the engine and turned to look over at his now very quiet girlfriend. Jo's eyes were fixed straight ahead and he could see her clenching her jaw. Cautiously, he reached across the console and laid a hand on one of her's.

"Just go in and let her know you're here now. That's all you can do."

"Because like it or not, I'm your sister. He told me a lot of other things too. I know about what happened before you left, after what happened with you ex. I know about you getting clean and being in this apartment for days on end. I know what Jerry and Lisa did to you. I know everything and I'm here and I'm staying, okay? So don't you dare try to shut me out." Jo deadpanned, getting to her feet and waiting for the teenager's next move. Alice stared at her, a little shocked at how blunt Jo had been with her, as well at how Alex really had told her just about everything.

"You don't have to be here for this. We're related, but you and I both know that doesn't mean a thing." She sighed. Jo started to feel a little less confident, but remembered what Alex had told her. She had to hold her ground.

"Well I want it to. So sit your ass down because I swear to God I will chase you down if you try to leave." Alice arched an eyebrow, but reluctantly crossed the room to sit back down on the couch. Jo suppressed a sigh of relief, nodded curtly, and sat down next to her.

"Okay. Thank you. I'm sorry if that was bitchy." Alice smirked a bit, but kept her eyes on her hands clasped in her lap.

"It wasn't." She replied quietly.

Their conversation was interrupted by the opening of the front door. There were some muffled thumps and then seconds later, the petite blonde surgeon shuffled into the kitchen. Glancing over from their spot in the living room, Alice and her sister wore matching grins as they took in Arizona's appearance. Purse draped haphazardly across her shoulder, her arms were completely loaded with grocery bags.

"Too much pride for two trips?" Alice quipped, earning a giggle from Jo.

"Oh shut up, you would have done the same thing." Arizona shot back, although the lightness in her tone suggested that she wasn't genuinely annoyed with either of them. Alice pushed off the cushions and stood up to help Arizona unpack. As she got to her feet, she noticed her vision blur as her head spun. Wobbling in place, she would have likely fallen over if Jo hadn't reached out and held her steady.

"Hey, what was that? Are you feeling ok?" The teen shrugged her off and stepped away, praying that her balance would hold.

"I'm fine, just a head rush." She lied smoothly, fully aware of the telltale sign that her blood sugar was low, a byproduct of severely under eating.

Half an hour later, the groceries were unpacked and the pasta was ready. The three girls migrated back to the couches, bowls in hand. Arizona glanced at the clock on the wall and her eyes lit up.

"The Bachelor is on!" She turned to the sisters with pleading eyes, thrilled at the rare opportunity to actually watch her guilty-pleasure show. Alice rolled her eyes but nodded. The more distracted Arizona was, the less likely she would notice what Alice was, or rather wasn't, eating. Stifling a sigh, she cast her gaze towards the bowl of ravioli that rested in her hands. Sure, it looked and smelled good, but the thought of actually eating it made her cringe. The stress of travelling, flashbacks, the mini relapse, and meeting Jo all had Alice slipping back into old coping mechanisms. When other areas of her life lacked any semblance of control that she so desperately sought, the familiar pangs of hunger brought a welcome reminder of the things she could control. She poked the pasta pockets around the bowl with her fork for a solid five minutes. Eventually, the emptiness of her stomach grew incessant and she relented, popping a piece into her mouth. Wincing as she swallowed, she gulped down half a glass of water to wash it down. After merely two more pieces and the remainder of the water, the trick had worked and her hunger subsided.

The show finally drew to a close, and Alice couldn't help but sigh in relief. The emotionally taxing day had left her tired enough, and the constant petty drama and flower-induced anxiety of the show offered little distraction from her fatigue. This time, it was Jo who stood up first.

"You two pretty much put everything away and fixed dinner, at least let me clear up." Arizona shot the resident a grateful smile, and handed off her bowl. Once the younger surgeon was out of earshot and had the water running, the paeds attending leaned over to Alice.

"Don't think that your lack of eating went unnoticed tonight." She said in a low tone, giving Alice a reproachful look.

"I wasn't hungry is all. Chill." The teen replied a little too quickly.

"No, I don't buy that." Arizona shook her head.

"You're going to go home tonight and fix yourself a dinner that you actually will eat. PB n J, yogurt and granola, whatever. I've already told Alex to make sure that you follow through on this. I'm guessing that Jo doesn't know about your eating disorder, and if you want to keep it that way then you won't give Alex a hard time. If not, he's going to tell Jo so that you've got a second set of eyes on you." Alice's eyes widened as she took in the surgeon's words.

"That is so unnecessary." She hissed. "I'm not twelve, I can make dietary choices for myself." Arizona shook her head and shrugged before heading into the kitchen to help Jo.

"Are you okay?" Lexie's question snapped Alice out of her thoughts and the teenager quickly nodded. The two of them had been wandering the aisles of the baby supply store for almost an hour now and eventually their small talk had given way to a comfortable silence.

"Yeah, why?" Although admitting it to Lexie was the last thing she wanted to do, Alice was really not okay. Coming back to Seattle hadn't been as easy as she had thought it would be. Sure, seeing everyone, especially Lexie, had been nice. And meeting Jo had actually been better than she had imagined. But there was something about the city that had pulled her back to the person she never wanted to be.

"You just look a little exhausted or something. Are you feeling okay? Have you been eating?" The surgeon began firing off questions and Alice stifled an eye roll.

"I'm fine. Trust me. Just a little tired." She replied calmly. Learning to keep her defensiveness under control was something that she was becoming truly grateful to Violet for. It led to much less fighting, especially with Lexie.

"Okay, if you're sure. I know coming home had to be a little much, what with a new family member and all." To Alice's relief, Lexie didn't jump to any conclusions about her disheveled appearance. Alex apparently had kept his word about not telling her.

"Yeah. So what are we looking for again? Gender neutral stuff?" Alice quickly changed the subject, choosing instead to focus on buying things for the baby that was bound to arrive in a couple of months. Lexie seemed to perk up and nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah. Mark and I have taken care of the crib and car seat and everything like that. But we have almost zero clothes." Alice couldn't help but smile at the thought of Mark and Lexie having a kid soon. Considering the way Lexie had looked after her, she knew she was going to make an amazing mom.
The two of them spent the next hour or so rummaging through the tiny articles of clothing that lined the store. Finding armfuls of onesies, pajamas, and outfits that Lexie had deemed "adorable", they made their way up to the registers and paid. Bags in hand, the two of them decided to go on one last Starbucks run before Alice had to get to the airport.

"You want your usual?" Lexie asked, handing her bags to Alice. The teenager nodded and went to grab a table as Lexie placed their order. It only took several minutes for the surgeon to return, drinks in hand.

"I'm going to miss you, you know. It's been so different since you left." Lexie smiled sadly as she sat down and handed Alice her drink. The teenager glanced down at her lap and bit her lip. Violet hand told her that stifling her emotions wasn't healthy, yet she couldn't exactly push herself to allow herself to break down in the middle of a Starbucks.

"Of course it has. That's called 'peace and quiet'. Better enjoy it until the baby comes." The teenager forced a chuckle and glanced out the window.

"No, Alice. We really do miss you here. Things just don't feel right. But I'm glad you're doing well in LA. Hopefully you'll feel like coming home more often." The surgeon offered lightly. Alice smiled at her and shrugged.

"Hopefully."