April spent the rest of her shift wondering if what Dr. Stark had told her were the same words he'd given Dr. Hunt, but it wasn't until she was alone in the locker room, changing into her street clothes, that she allowed herself to replay the memory in order to savor the compliment.

The best part was how simply he'd said it, she thought, pulling off her scrub shirt. She liked that about him, she always had - when he wasn't being sarcastic, he was sincere, direct. No games. It was a welcome change from the drama and passive-aggressive self-interest of the other residents. The fact that he thought she was a good doctor, worth recommending to another doctor, gave her a warm glow.

There was a bit of chagrin mixed in with the flattery. He always had to have the last word, didn't he? Just walking out before she had a chance to process or respond. April frowned in thought as she kicked into jeans and wriggled them up around her waist.

He really was trying to treat her fairly, she decided. He'd been honestly insulted on the stairs, and he'd been professional and distant all day. She half-smiled, realizing that made his opinion of her skill even less suspect, but she didn't feel as relieved about that as she should. She caught where her thoughts were headed, and dismissed them with an impatient shake of her head as she buckled her belt. She didn't feel that way about Stark. She was only happy about his words because she'd be happy about those words coming from any skilled attending. Now that she was chief resident, supervisor to all of her friends, uncomplicated relationships with her colleagues would be even harder to come by, she was thankful to avoid complications where she could. She slammed her locker shut just a little harder than necessary, grabbed her bag, and left the room.

She was walking down the hall, looking forward to getting home, when a female voice called out her name. "Dr. Kepner!"

April turned around and saw the chief's assistant walking briskly toward her. April tried to appear pleasant as she said, "Yes?"

"The chief wants to see you before you start your shift tomorrow," the woman said, taking a pen off the clipboard that she carried and holding it poised above the paper. "Shall I tell him you're able to come in half an hour early to meet with him?" She met April's eyes, waiting.

A small tremor of fear rippled through her torso as April wondered why the chief would want to see her. Had she screwed something up again? But it was clear that now was not the time to ask for details, the chief's assistant just wanted a yes or a no. "Ahh, sure," she said quickly, forcing what she hoped was a confident smile.

The chief's assistant just nodded, made a mark on her clipboard, and tucking the pen back underneath the clasp, walked away without another word. April let the smile fall from her face as she turned to go home.

Her shoulder muscles finally relaxed as she turned her key in the lock back at the house. Things might still be awkward at work after her recent promotion, but here she could hide out in her room whenever she wasn't eating. At the thought of eating, her stomach rumbled, announcing her hunger.

She turned towards the kitchen just as Meredith came bounding down the stairs, Zola in her arms.

"April!" Meredith said, expressing uncharacteristic exuberance as she followed April into the kitchen.

"Hey," April said, a genuine smile spreading across her face in response to the sight. Meredith looked surprisingly cute and natural with a baby in her arms, and Zola was pretty endearing all by herself.

April hadn't pressed Meredith for any explanations about that eventful day a few weeks ago when Derek and Alex left, Christina and Zola showed up, and Meredith had been suspended. She'd heard some rumors about the Alzheimer's trial, and from the way Alex's room had been cleaned out, she guessed he'd been involved in that mess somehow, but she hadn't actually asked Meredith for any details. She was dying to know what was going on, but by now she knew better than to pry - Meredith would talk about it when Meredith was good and ready, and until then, Meredith would just get pissed at any intrusion.

So for the past few weeks, April had just kept up a light chatter with her roommate. Just enough to maintain the friendship they'd managed to forge over the past year, and remind Meredith that she was here, not pressuring, but available.

Now, April settled on a question that would allow Meredith to answer as shallowly or as deeply as she wanted. "How was your day off?" She grabbed milk from the fridge, too tired to consider actually cooking, and opened the pantry to hunt for cereal.

"It was good," said Meredith, sounding cautiously optimistic. "Zola and I caught up on some laundry, went to the park, and then had a fantastic nap together, didn't we, baby girl?" She looked down at Zola and bounced the baby on her hip, eliciting a happy gurgle. April grinned again at the two of them as she got a bowl out of the cupboard. In the first few days that Zola had been at the house, Meredith had been stressed out, clearly worrying over Derek and her job and struggling to adjust to the routines of an infant. But about a week in to her suspension, a change had come over her. Motherhood agreed with her, April thought. She seemed more balanced, more grounded, than ever before.

Meredith looked back up at April, giving an easy smile now. "How was yours?"

"Oh, it was fine," said April automatically, pouring milk over her banana nut crunch. She turned away briefly, putting the jug back. She brightened as she remembered her small success in the OR. "Actually, I helped Dr. Stark repair an umbilical hernia on a six month old this afternoon, he let me reinforce the abdominal wall and close all by myself."

A look of irritation passed over Meredith's face, and April winced. She'd forgotten for a moment that Meredith hadn't been allowed to even stand in the operating room yet since her suspension. "Sorry, I just-"

"No, it's fine," Meredith cut her off, rolling her eyes self-deprecatingly. "I'll get back in there eventually." She looked determined, if depressed. She walked over to Zola's high chair and started buckling her in.

"Oh, definitely," April said, injecting the slightly cocky faith into her own voice that was missing from her friend's. She picked up her bowl and followed Meredith to the table. "Probably sooner than you think." She sat down and picked up her spoon. Maybe if she kept her mouth full, she wouldn't put her foot in it again.

"So..." Meredith started, opening a cabinet and grabbing a jar of baby food. "Actually, speaking of sooner than I think, Derek and I talked some more today, and we're moving back in together."

April struggled to swallow her mouthful of cereal. "Oh my gosh, that's great!" she enthused. "That really is fantastic, Meredith, I'm so happy that you guys will be back to normal."

"Well," Meredith said dryly, twisting the cap off the baby food with a pop, "I don't know about normal." She hesitated. "Actually, he's made it clear that he expects some things to be different this time." She smirked suddenly. "Like, no more ruining his ground-breaking trials without asking first."

April laughed a little, surprised that she'd come right out and said it, and with humor. "That seems fair."

Meredith smiled ruefully. "Yeah," she said. "it is. The other thing is..." she hesitated, looking uncomfortable.

"I'm sure it's worth it," April said, trying to reassure her. "Whatever he's asking, if it means you can be a family again, that's worth it, right?"

"I - yeah," Meredith said reluctantly. She sighed. "Look, April, I'm sorry, but that was kind of his point, that we're a family now." She smiled half-heartedly at Zola as the baby leaned forward in her high chair to meet the incoming spoon of pureed fruit. She met April's eyes again and finished bluntly, "the day after he left, he put a rush on the construction of the new house, and it'll be finished - well, livable, at least - in a week. He wants us to move out there as soon as possible, start fresh."

April nodded. "That makes sense." She wondered why Meredith looked so awkward, then the other shoe dropped. "Will...will everyone just continue to rent from you, then?"

Meredith dipped the baby spoon into the jar again. "Actually," she began diplomatically, "Lexie told me last night that she and Jackson are moving out at the end of the month. I guess they're ready for a place of their own, and they just found a one bedroom that's not too far from the hospital."

"Oh," April said blankly. That was a bit of a surprise. Despite finding them dry-humping each other around every corner, she hadn't realized they were that serious yet.

"Yeah. Who knows if that will last, but they're giving it a shot," Meredith said dryly. "And Christina went home for good two days ago, she and Owen are...well, they're not fighting anymore."

"That's great, good for them," April said slowly, doing the math. "And Alex isn't coming back, is he," she said suddenly. It wasn't a question.

"No," was all Meredith said, but her lips thinned in a clear warning that she didn't want to talk about that.

So she was the only one left. April felt suddenly numb. It didn't matter, really, whether or not Meredith would let her stay in this house or whether she'd have to move. She'd suddenly be living alone either way. She'd taken for granted the security of having a home filled with people, even annoying ones who made out on the couch too often and made fun of her for dating an older attending.

"Anyway," Meredith continued, "I don't really know what to do with the house. Derek and I don't need the money, and I don't want to rent it out, just - just in case." Meredith looked a bit uneasy, but her eyes narrowed at April over the baby food, telegraphing that as far as history was concerned, she'd never said that last bit. "So I figured I'd let you decide whether you want to stay or go." She shrugged one shoulder, and lifted another lump of baby food toward Zola. "Your rent wouldn't have to change, and you'd have the whole place to yourself, for the most part...I'd store my mom's stuff in one of the smaller bedrooms, for now."

"Oh, wow," April said slowly, trying to figure out how to feel. "I-I don't know. I mean, that's really nice of you, to let me stay here, but I - well, it's an awful lot of house for just one person," she finished doubtfully.

Meredith smiled faintly. "Yeah, believe me, I know. You don't have to decide anytime soon," she said reassuringly. "You can just keep living here until you don't want to anymore, really."

April forced a smile, nodding in agreement, but couldn't think of anything to say.

"Even after the moving trucks come next week, I'll be here now and then," Meredith continued, clearly feeling guilty, "and of course you'll see me at the hospital almost every day. Plus," she added, "even though we're further away from the hospital now, it's not like we're moving cross-country, we'll barely be outside city limits."

"Yeah, we'll see how it goes," April said, trying to sound upbeat. She didn't want to be seen as the lonely, abandoned girl. "I might love it, you know? Even with the house being so big. I've been kind of wanting to move out on my own anyway," she fibbed. "You know, just have more time to myself, always being able to watch what I want on tv, never having to deal with someone else's mess." She grinned at Meredith, hoping she was buying her act.

"Yeah, well, don't start loving your alone time too much. You'll come over for dinner a lot," Meredith said firmly, taking her by surprise.

"I will?" April asked reflexively.

"Yeah. I mean, I still hate you for getting chief resident," Meredith said, flattening her voice and raising an eyebrow. Then she smiled, and her voice regained its signature lilt. "But I'll only hate you at work, because I'm going to need all the friends I can get to come visit me, keep me from going crazy from living in the freakin' woods."

She looked repulsed at the very idea, and April laughed. Zola, delighted at the sound, clapped her hands and squealed, dissolving what was left of the tension. Meredith turned back to the baby, laughing too, and stuck her hand into the high chair to tickle her stomach. Zola squealed again, and Meredith gushed at her, "You are too cute! Yes, you, ya little clapper."

April laughed again, delighting in seeing her friend reduced to baby talk.

Meredith looked back at her, catching the look of amusement. "Oh, whatever, I'm not even going to apologize for turning into that person." She smiled adoringly at Zola again. "And since I am that person," Meredith added, maternal pride and excitement bleeding through her voice, "did I tell you that Zola waved goodbye at Derek today? It's the first time she's done that, she was so cute."

"I bet she was," April said, smiling, and for the rest of the night, she and Meredith talked only of Zola's developmental milestones.

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