Meredith walked towards the door to open it. She thought it was Maggie, but her face changed when she opened it.
"Arizona, hi!" – Meredith greeted her, surprised to see the blonde with another woman she never saw before by her side.
"Meredith, it's good to see you. This is Dr. Mel López, Maggie said I could bring a plus one" – Arizona explained, introducing both women.
Meredith's face was somewhat undecipherable. She needed to be pleasant but at the same time she was shocked that Arizona brought a date, specially right after she just found out about Amelia and her sleeping together.
"Hi. Nice to meet you, I'm Meredith Grey" – Meredith greeted Mel and moved from the doorstep so they both could come inside.
When Meredith turned around, she smiled at Amelia with a concerned and sort of freak façade, not knowing how her sister would react.
"Arizona is here" – Meredith said, trying to disguise her face.
"Hi, Amelia" – Arizona smiled and waited to see if she could hug her.
Amelia's face changed immediately when she saw Dr. López. Something was quite wrong about that. Arizona said a few nights ago, at dinner, that she wasn't dating anyone else. How the hell she shows up with a woman just one day after their talk? Was she that kind of person? Arizona realized very quickly what was going on inside Amelia's head when she saw her face practically melting down.
"Amelia, this is Dr. Mel López. She's a friend of mine and actually is trying to get into Grey Sloan's residency program, so I thought it would be nice to introduce her to some of the best doctors in there" – Arizona tried to explain the situation, hoping Amelia would believe her.
"Hi, nice to meet you" – Mel greeted Amelia, shaking hands.
"Nice to meet you. Amelia Shepherd" – Amelia was nice and looked a little relieved.
"Come on, guys, let's sit. Maggie is coming in any minute" – Meredith suggested and they all followed her.
Before the situation could by any weirder, Amelia tried to break the ice and discover how Dr. López was, as a person, and why she was there. She noticed how gorgeous this woman was, and if she were just a little bit smarter than Amelia, she would try to win Arizona's heart.
"So, tell us a little bit about you, Dr. López. Are you from Seattle?" – Amelia asked.
"No, I'm from Mexico, actually, but I've moved to the US a few months ago" – Mel explained, shyly.
"Oh, really? And do you like living in here? I bet the rainy mood is a little different from sunny Mexico" – Amelia joked and then got worried if she was being prejudiced – "I mean this as a good thing"
"Well, I actually live in Portland, Oregon, so not so rainy. But yes, I do miss Mexico very much, even though I like living in the US" – Mel affirmed.
"And what residency are you applying for?" – Meredith asked this time.
"General Surgery" – Mel answered but Arizona jumped in quickly.
"She's actually a second year resident already and has an amazing letter of recommendation from Dr. Breda, from OHSU Hospital" – Arizona told the colleagues.
"Dr. Breda is an excellent surgeon. I bet you're in good hands. But Arizona told you were applying to Grey Sloan?" – Meredith asked.
"I actually applied for a few programs to transfer, such as Grey Sloan, Presbyterian and Tufts, in Boston, but while the results didn't come out, my uncle is a doctor at OHSU and got me working in there for now" – Mel said, a little embarrassed since she didn't like the idea of getting something just because her uncle was influent – "I hate nepotism, just to be clear, that's why I want to complete the residency somewhere else".
"Our family is full of it, don't worry. Ellis Grey's daughter. Derek Shepherd's sister" – Amelia joked, pointing to Meredith and then herself.
"But I thought our program was filled in already. Did anyone drop out?" – Meredith asked, confused.
"No, actually Mel lost the transfer deadline because she got caught in a flight, but I've talked to Bailey and asked her if she could maybe do something about it. She's really outstanding!" – Arizona exclaimed, making Amelia shrug, jealous.
"Well, if Bailey can fix it, it will be a pleasure working with you" – Meredith smiled.
"The pleasure and honor will be all mine, actually. I'm a really big admirer of you, Dr. Grey" – Mel confessed.
Right at that moment, Maggie entered the house, looking pissed for being late. Winston was quiet, probably because he was the reason they were running late for dinner.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Winston got stuck at the OR and I had a pie problem" – Maggie apologized.
"A pie problem?" – Amelia asked, confused.
"Yes, I thought Winston was going to get the kids' favorite pie, he thought I was going to get it and in the end no one picked it up. But we've solved. It's here. We're here" – Maggie was electric and soon spotted Mel – "Oh, hi, I don't know you. Maggie Pierce"
"Nice to meet you, Dr. Pierce. I'm Mel López" – Mel greeted her.
"Winston Ndugu" – Winston introduced himself since Maggie sort of ignored his presence.
"Nice to meet you" – Mel greeted him, smiling.
"Dr. López is a friend and also a resident, so I invited her to meet you all. And although I know these ladies for such a long time, I still don't know you, Dr. Ndugu. Nice to meet you, I'm Arizona Robbins" – Arizona greeted Winston, too.
"The pleasure is all mine, Dr. Robbins. Heard great things of you" – Winston said.
"Oh, after another glass of wine I would ask you what and who said it" – Arizona joked, making everybody laugh, too.
Soon they were all gathering around the dinner table and Amelia pulled Arizona's arm before she could take her place. It was just a light touch, but it seemed like the whole world has stopped for a minute. That touch was enough for both women remember they wouldn't forget each other that easy.
"Hey, just checking, are you ok?" – Amelia asked.