Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing. I really do appreciate it. In this next chapter we get to meet Mike, Melanie's brother (Izzie and Alex's son) and Erin, Melanie's friend from Buffalo. I will be completely honest: Erin, the character, is loosely based on my sister, Erin. On with the story and as always thank you, Jennifer

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from GA or the limited song lyrics included...in case you couldn't guess.

Chapter 3- Moving On Up

Well we're moving on up,
To the east side,
To a deluxe apartment in the sky.

The next morning Izzie and Alex were in the kitchen. She was cooking a breakfast of pancakes and eggs while he was reading the latest neonatal journal, until someone walked through the back door.

"Hey Mom and Dad," said Michael Karev. He had been with some friends for a final camping trip before school would start.

"You're early Mike," said Alex. He hadn't been expecting Mike to come home until the late morning.

"It's already 10:30," replied Mike. "Did Mel come in last night?"

"She did" Izzie replied, giving her only son a plate of pancakes. "Should we go wake her up?"

"No need," Melanie said answering Izzie's question from the opposite direction. "I don't know why but I guess I just needed to sleep in this morning. I never intended to sleep this late. Erin said she'd be at the apartment around noon, so for her that means 11:30," she continued as she poured herself cup of coffee.

"Enjoy sleeping in while you can," joked Alex. "You won't be sleeping much at all for the next year."

"You're right," Melanie conceded. "So Mike, are you looking forward to your senior year?"

"Yeah, I'm mostly taking electives, so that will be cool," he started. He went on to tell her what classes he was taking but Melanie was just caught up in the fact her baby brother was a senior in high school. Looking at him, she could see that he looked just like their father, where she had always looked more like her mother.

They continued having a family breakfast until Melanie caught sight of the clock. "Dad, it's already 11:30. We should get going."

Alex reluctantly grabbed his car keys. "I guess you're right. Mike, since you're home anyway, come and help your sister move in."

"Ok," the younger Karev responded as the three walked out and piled into a Lexus crossover.

"How far away is it?" Melanie asked.

"It's five minutes towards the hospital," answered Alex as he turned on the car and slipped out of the driveway. "You'll like it. It's in a decent neighborhood. It has a great kitchen, two bedrooms, a study… What else?" he asked himself trying to remember all the amenities.

"How much is rent per month, Dad? You still haven't told me that," Melanie asked.

"Well, between you and Erin, I'm sure you can afford it," he responded.

"I still need a number," she replied. She had been asking for a definitive price for a month since her father had told her that he had found her a place.

"She's not going to like this," Mike interjected, knowing the rent and how much Mel had intended to spend.

"What am I not going to like" Melanie questioned, but before anyone could answer her cell phone rang. "Wait a second, it's Erin," she told her father.

Erin's voice came in clearly from the speaker. "I know I said noon, but I'm early. Where are you?"

"I'm almost there. I brought my dad and brother to help us move." Melanie responded.

"Great. See you in a minute." Erin said before hanging up the phone.

Melanie continued where she left off with her father. "How much? I have to be able to tell Erin when I see her in a minute."

Alex realizing he was going to have to come clean with the price "I know you said a thousand was the limit. I assumed that each of you were going to pay a grand so I found a place for $1500."

"A month?" Melanie exclaimed incredulous. "Are you serious?"

"I clearly assumed wrong. Izzie and I can help you and I'm sure your mother would…" Alex was cut off by Melanie.

"No. I don't want to be living off my daddy's money forever and I certainly don't want to ask my mother. I know you'll always think of me as your little girl, but I'm an independent woman," Melanie said.

At that Alex pulled up in front of a Victorian looking townhouse. "Here we are. Is that Erin?" he asked indicating towards the truck with the U-haul trailer behind.

"That's her," she said as she opened the door. "We finally made it Eir."

Her friend rushed up towards her "It's about time. I love this place. It's so cute. It reminds me of my grandparent's house. I can't believe it's less than a thousand a month." Erin rambled as was her tendency.

Melanie just smiled. It was a nice place. They would just have to figure out some way to come up with an extra $500 a month when they had other bills to pay on an intern's salary. She could wait until the stuff was moved in to break that news to her. "Erin I want you to meet my dad and my brother Mike."

Erin replied in a polite voice "It's nice to meet you two."

Alex smiled back. So far his daughter's new roommate was acceptable. "It's nice to meet you too Erin. Melanie has told us a lot about you."

"Should we start moving stuff in?" Mike asked, not wanting to be there all day.

"Sure," Melanie replied. She and Erin didn't have too many things in the trailer. Just a few boxes of clothes each, a few boxes of medical journals and books, a box of photo albums, and a few more boxes of the requisite house items that they all knew they wouldn't have time to use for a long while. Alex had managed to rummage up some old furniture from the family, so Erin hadn't had to cart that cross-country. It wasn't much but it was enough for the time being.

By four o'clock, they had finished moving everything in and had quite a bit put away. Alex had ordered in a pizza. "How do you like it," he asked Erin. She tended to be quiet so he had been unsure.

She swallowed the bite in her mouth. "It's good," she said, not wanting to offend by saying that it wasn't like the pizza at home.

"Melly, told me that you wanted to specialize in neonatal," Alex said.

Erin replied, "Yeah, I've always loved little babies. Mel told me you're the head of the department."

"I am. I suppose I'll be seeing you quite a bit," he responded.

They continued eating. Melanie wanted to get Erin alone when she told her the price. "Dad, you and Mike should probably get going. Erin and I have to go to that mixer for the new interns."

"Right," Alex said taking the hint. He and Mike left shortly after.

"So I didn't want to ask in front of your dad but how much is this place going to cost us?" Erin asked when the Karevs were safely out the door. "I have trouble believing that this is less than a thousand a month."

Melanie swallowed, "That would be because it's not."

Erin's face fell, "Melly, you know I can't afford any more than $500 a month. That was already going to be really tight. How much more is it?"

"It's $1500. My dad apparently misunderstood." Melanie stated simply.

"What are we going to do? I love this place but still…" Erin let her words hang in the air.

"We could get another roommate. We don't need a study and there are two bathrooms, so it won't be too crowded," Mel suggested.

Erin huffed a little. This hadn't been how she pictured living in Seattle, but she replied "If we find the right person, but if we don't I'm going to have to move."

"We'll find the right person. We can try asking at the mixer tonight to see if anyone is looking for a place," Melanie suggested.

"Ok, we should start getting ready then." Erin completed. She walked upstairs to figure out which outfit to wear to the mixer that evening. Maybe that new purple halter dress would work. It was a little sporty but she felt it was acceptable to meet her new colleagues in.