Sera's POV – 9 years later

I still remember like yesterday that I was starting medical school. The first time graduating as a GP, doing internship and residency… and now… I'm here, staring in front of the mirror, ready to graduate for the second time. Time flew by and I didn't realise how. It seemed like life was passing in front of me in an instant, until it caught up to me in a split of a second. I wished for Natalie to be here right now… she would give me her pep talk and get on going… just like she did 4 years ago. Only now, she's with Mark in Switzerland. They got married, and are raising their own little family, with a baby girl on the way. She didn't specialise here… she became a family doctor.

I brought out the paper from my pocket and stared back at the mirror. I had been revising my speech for over 50 times, and every time, I kept changing things… there was nothing to change anymore. If I did so, I'd rather re-write it. I kept focusing and preparing myself mentally. Damn I hated public appearances… not to mention my whole family was going to be there.

'Sera?' My mother knocked gently as she opened the door while I hid my speech. I still hadn't told them that this year I was going to do the graduation speech. I wanted to give it to them as a surprise. I was glad I managed to keep it as a secret.

'Yes…' I smiled as both my parents entered.

'Oh my baby! You look so beautiful!' Mum started as she moved forward hugging me tight. 'I can't do it… I'm going to cry…'

'I hope they are happy tears…'

'They are…' Dad smiled as he joined in. 'You've grown up so fast…' He grumbled. 'You're 26 already!' He continued as he held me at arm's length. '…and you keep on amazing me…' He smiled. 'You're beautiful…' He said in tears.

'Dad… don't do this… I'm going to cry…' I chocked as I chuckled.

'Are you ready?' My mother asked.

'Yes… Is it time?'

'Almost…' Dad replied.

'…but before, we want to give you your graduation gift…' My mother smiled as she handed me a huge box.

'We thought you may need this… now that you're going to and fro to John's office…' Dad smiled as I opened the box and found a brand new key. 'It's… um… the… your… Lamborghini Reventon…' He replied as I kept staring at him.

'You're joking right?' I asked them both surprised.

'We don't joke on these things…' Mum replied. 'It's so hard seeing you flee from my nest…' She hugged me tight again.

'Ours Ana… Ours…' Dad insisted. 'Sera, this is not a joke… We thought it's time we'd trust you with something this big. Hell, patients trust themselves into your own hands…' Dad smiled. 'I think you don't need Taylor to drive you anymore, but you will still have a 24 hour security 7 days a week with you …but let me warn you… This is a very fast car… I don't want you to test its limits. You know its fast and that's all you need to know…'

'So there is no catch? It's all mine?' I asked smiling.

'It's yours…' Dad replied. '…we'll take it for a spin tonight if you want, after your graduation dinner.'

'I'd love to dad!' I hugged him tight. 'THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I didn't expect it in a million years…'

'If you don't like it we can always exchange it…' Dad suggested as mum elbowed him.

'No… I love it!'

'Come on… let's get going… we don't want to be late…' My mother said as she kissed my forehead.

Christian's POV

She looked so smart. I couldn't believe that she was already a graduate, and now working with John. I never expected this. She wanted to follow in my parent's footsteps, and one day out of the blues, she decided to continue in the line of psychiatry.

4 Years Before – Flashback

'Peanut… you're quite… Is everything ok?' I asked her gently. She had been staring for over an hour. Her thoughts seemed to be consuming her. I didn't want to tell her expect ask her maybe I'll get her to talk.

'Yeah… It's just… I have to file my application this evening…' She replied as I moved forward and read the application at hand.

'What's the problem?' Ana asked.

'It's…' She started as she stopped. 'Can I ask you guys something?'

'Yeah sure…' I smiled. 'You know you can tell us anything…'

'It's just… I want to specialise… but… I'm still not sure…' She replied.

'Why don't you take a gap year?' Ana suggested.

'No… no… it's not that mum…

'Than what is it honey?' Ana asked again.

'I… I went to talk to Uncle John…' she admitted as Ana and I stared at each other.

'Is everything ok?' I asked concerned.

'Oh, yes… you shouldn't worry…' She smiled. 'Dad… what would you say if I tell you I'd like to become a psychiatrist?'

'I thought you wanted to specialise in immunology…'

'I thought so too… but… I realised that all I want to do is help others… Uncle John helped us all, and many other for the latter. I… It's… I talked to Uncle John already about this… we talked salary, placements, residency… he even offered me a job at his private practice. I'll be one of the shareholders…'

'…did you tell anyone else?' Ana asked her.

'Carter… he told me to follow the voice in my heart…'

'…and he said right…' I agreed. 'Sera… why are you telling us now? We could have helped you out…'

'It's… dad… I didn't know how you'll take it…'

'Sera, it is your life… I cannot impose on you a career, because you have to live with it. I followed my dreams, and my parents were supportive… It's time I'd do the same. What I'm hurt about is why you didn't say anything earlier! We could have suggested things for you…'

'We could even have helped you out…' Ana agreed.

'I don't know… I was afraid…' She admitted.

'From what?'

'Dad…' She started as she stood up. 'You've always wanted me into biotechnology and things like that. You've even suggested immunology so that I can link things with GEH. I didn't want to let you down!'

'You're not letting me down princess…' I replied as I moved forward and hugged her tight. 'Sera, all I want for you is the best, and if that means that you have to follow your dreams then do so! Psychiatry is a great line of work… and with GEH, you have quite a fortune… not to mention, what's ours is yours…'

'Dad! Don't mention will…'

'Sera… it's the truth… you have to face it… We're not going to be here forever…'

'Your father is right… someday we will die…'

'Not unless I die before you…'

'Sera… you're young… we love you and we want you to follow your dreams and succeed in anything you want… I'm not keeping you from specialising in psychiatry… and neither your mother is….'

'So you're not angry?'

'For what? For wanting to do something noble?'

'No… for… keeping things from you…'

'I have to admit… I am hurt that you've talked with John and Carter first instead of us… but the most important thing is that you made your research, you talked it out… you took opinions, and although you took your time, you told us…' I explained.

'So does that mean that I have both your blessings?'

'You have our blessings honey…' Ana smiled. 'We're proud of you Sera…'

'I love you mummy…'

'Hey! And what about me?' I pouted teasingly.

'I love you too daddy…' She said as she hugged me tight.

End of Flashback

And 4 years later I still remember that day clearly… I looked at the rear-view mirror and she was still playing with her fingers. She was so damned nervous. I smiled… so did Ana… It both reminded us of when Anastasia was graduating from WSU Vancouver. Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

We had given her one of the gifts, and she was already amazed with it. Let alone what she's going to do once we arrive at the University. The second gift is waiting for her probably already seating and 7 months pregnant with her husband still worrying about his hair and playing with their 9 year old son.

I parked near my parents' car. They seemed to have just arrived. We all got out of the car, and they didn't give Sera a chance to breath. They hugged her and moved her in their hands as if she was a doll. She is a doll, but they need to be more gentle with her. Until Carter came. He lifted her off and kissed her passionately, until he joined us to the seating, while Sera went with her friends.

'Good Evening ladies and gentlemen.' The Dean started. 'On behalf of all the staff, and doctors, we welcome you to the most important evening of all the students here.' He continued. 'I now call to the hooding station, Dr. Ferrati, Dr. Michealson, and Dr. Ross, and Dr. Nassero that will read the candidate's names, and I will hand them their degrees, at the end of the stage.'

'Congratulations to the graduates and to their loved ones, their family and friends…' Nassero started. He continued by calling each student. Ana and I were waiting till he called our daughter's name. All the family was waiting for that moment. I was about to cry with tears of joy. My baby… she still was my baby… I love her so much. She made us proud. She managed to make it where she wanted to make it. Finally her name came up. 'Dr. Sera Elizabeth Grey graduating with highest honours.' As if on cue we stood up and cheered for her. Ana took the pictures, while supressing the tears. I held her close to me while she rested her head on my shoulders. 'Congratulations to everyone…' He finally finished while the whole hall cheered for the fellow graduates.

'Congratulations again!' The Dean said. 'It is my great honour to recognise students who are graduating today with a Perfect 4.0 grade point average.' He continued. 'Now doctors. Stand up and thank your mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters that helped you to arrive here in this day.' He said again as all graduates stood up and cheered. 'Please… be seated now, and let's welcome Dr. Sera Elizabeth Grey for her Graduation Speech…' He said again while Ana and I stared at each other in surprise.

'You didn't tell us she was doing the speech!' My mother whispered.

'We didn't know mother… She kept it a secret…'

'I knew…' John teased. 'She wanted to give you a surprise…'

'Good Evening fellow graduates of the year 2023.' She started. 'Probably many of you know me as the library shelf… and many of you know me as the Gray's Anatomy reference book.' She continued as everybody chuckled. '…and I must say… those two titles, are still haunting me to this day…' She smiled. 'Right Michelle?'

'YEAHHH! YOU GO GIRL!' She shouted back while everybody laughed.

'I remember the first day we've all been to our first lecture. We got confused with the two auditoriums, and we all waited for an hour, while our lecturers waited in the other auditorium. We all thought that maybe that was a sign that we shouldn't be in med school after all… but we all pushed through it and worked through everything. Sometimes we were all wondering 'What the hell are we doing here?' or as many of us said. 'YOLO MAN!' She continued as everybody chuckled. 'The first year and half of medical school was the toughest. We had to remember stacks of books, study physiology, pharmacology, pathology… learn new symptoms, diagnosis, prognosis the treatment of thousands of different diseased. We've even made a new medical charades game… Right Carlo?'

'RIGHT!'

'We've fallen behind… we've all given up at some point, but we all pushed through it. We've seen all sorts of things. Heart failure, kidney failure… dying patients… and we all came to one conclusion… that being a doctor isn't about the money… isn't about the title… it's about helping others. Being compassionate and understanding. I remember, it wasn't the first time were I encountered a patient during my internship, where they ended up telling me half their life story, if not all at times… about how their health had been sailing… about how their dog smelled, or how their parrot talked… or how they wanted that they never lost their kids and how they would have wanted to give more to them…' She continued. 'We're lucky. All of us… whether we chose to see it or not… admit it or not… I am one of you for starters. If it wasn't for my parents, I wouldn't be here today. Ok, confession time people. How many of you were afraid of telling your parents that you wanted to become psychiatrists raise your hands please?' She said as more than half the auditorium did as well as she did. 'Yeah… I'm one of you guys…' She continued as she put her hand down. 'I was afraid on telling them that I wanted to become a psycho gal… You know, analysing every word… taking everything in consideration…' She continued. '…but my parents are great people… and so are yours. They've pushed us, and helped us. To some of us, they even paid for our education so that we can succeed in anything we wanted. They put up with our crap, tantrums… and even our temper during our stressful days. I did it too… and it wasn't the first time that my smart mouth got me in trouble with dad. You see, I like to push his buttons. He gets so frustrated and starts acting like a little kid.' She chuckled, and so did I. 'My mother… is another thing. She is the most beautiful amazing lady I could have ever asked for as a mother. Probably you're all thinking the same on your parents… and it makes us realise. No matter how much we grumble and how much we say that they don't understand… in reality… nobody knows as much as they do. Because they only want what's best for us. My parents know what's best for me. I can say that whenever I fell, I've found them there to pick me up and help me stand back up on my feet. Dad is my spoke, and my mother is the one that keeps peace and holds everything in place when dad and I decide to act like 2 year olds… but what's family without bickering?' She explained. 'Mum… dad… Thank you for all the sacrifices you've done for me to see me up here on this stage this day. I will never forget all those times you've both put up with my crap, and for that I thank you. You could have given up on me in an instant… but you didn't… instead you've fought for me…' She chocked as she stopped to take a breath. 'Fellow graduates, today, we've truly become adults. We're not responsible for only ourselves now, but we have patients into our own hands. We have lives… and most of all; we have our family… our parents… the ones that helped us in becoming what we are today. Parents, we wouldn't have been here without you. So we thank you. Now for Dr. Ferrati… any autopsies today doc?'

'Nopes… but I have some ready for all of you…' He replied as the whole auditorium chuckled.

'It's actually funny.' She continued. 'When we first went down to the morgue, we were all terrified. We didn't know what to expect, and in came Dr. Ferratti, with his beloved baguette in his hands munching around dead bodies. None of us could take it, and half the class exited the morgue throwing up. I was one of them… but Dr. Ferratti followed us still eating, and I remember his words till this very day. 'You shouldn't be afraid of the dead… be afraid of the living… they're the ones that can kill you, and as doctors, you'll learn this the hard way unfortunately, because your superior may commit a mistake and you have to cover for him unless you want to end up in Timbuktu to finish your residency.' We all went in after those words, and we learned to take in the smell, and some of us even learned how to nap on the cold hard tables. Before I started medical school, everybody was telling me how nobody cared about us students, and about how all we are, are numbers. I can say the opposite. I thank all the staff on behalf of us graduates for sticking up with us when we were lost… when we felt like giving up but you didn't allow us. For letting us believe that there will be better times. For that we thank you, and after all these experiences, we made it to graduation. Who would have thought we could have made it to this day? Not my PE teacher for sure. She failed me for not being able to skip rope. Only today… we've become someone… we've become citizens ready to provide the best care to the patients that will be counting on us in making them feel better. My grandparents always told me that experience is the best teacher, only if we chose to listen. Life isn't easy and we will have our ups and downs, but, although we'll have these moments were we'll feel like giving up, were we feel that our life ended, we should remember on the experiences we've acquired. They moulded us into who we are, and what we are, are people ready to face the world head on. Life isn't only about school or grades. My father told me this, and he's right. There are many things that we can't tackle by opening a text book, or by referring to Wikipedia… these are things were we have to turn to those that had these experiences… and who's better to give us advices than our parents? Friends… Fellow Graduates, we are going to face a lot of things from this moment onwards. We're no longer students that crash in the library finding solutions. We are now mature young adults that whatever happens, will always want refuge… and we'll only find that in ourselves and into our families.' She stopped to take a breath. 'My last point that I'd like to mention, is that we should never let fame get to our heads. We all shouldn't get too comfortable into our position. We have to hold our grounds, and don't be hard headed and stubborn; because in a split second we can all lose the 9 years we've been working for. Lastly, now that we're released into the world of hard work, we should all remember from where we came from. We were young naïve med students once. Let's not forget that. So go forward, not with an artificial glow about all that you have achieved, but with the stark reality of what lies ahead. These are challenging times for doctors as we increasingly encounter efforts to devalue all we've learned and experienced. Work to make the system better. Stay strong, work hard, and appreciate all you've got. After all, there are plenty of people who would give anything to be in your shoes. Good luck and God bless each and every one of you.' She finished while the whole auditorium burst into cheering and clapping.

Ana and I were like babies. We cried at her speech, and so did many students and other parents. We both were glad she didn't tell us before.

'Thank you Dr. Grey…' The Dean said. 'That was very touching. I congratulate you all in achieving your gaols.' He continued. 'One last note before we finish our night. Fellow Graduates, you are now doctors, use your talents right. It is the things we do now that will finally matter in the end. On top of it all, I congratulate you all, and God Bless you all…'

Ana's POV

'Honey! That was beautiful!' I started as I hugged her tight. 'I love you baby girl…'

'Ana… the gift…' Christian whispered in my ear.

'Yes…' I replied. 'Sera we have something else for you…'

'Mum the car is enough already!' She smiled.

'So you don't want me?' Natalie said from behind her.

'No… it can't be… she's in Switz…' Sera replied still looking straight into my eyes as I turned her and both girls hugged each other.

'Grey! You were great up there!' She laughed.

'You're not so bad yourself!' She smiled. '... how come?'

'Your parents paid for my flight. They wanted me to be here…'

'OH Natalie! I'm so happy you're here! Where are Jace and Mark?'

'Fighting over ice cream…' She joked.

'Girls… I know you're enjoying this time, but it's time for dinner… you can catch up during dinner…' I smiled as they nodded and started our way to the parking lot.

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