Grey's Anatomy Alternate Universe: Begins at the end of the last scene in 08x13, If/Then, and explores how alternate universe Meredith handles being just a girl in a bar with a cute guy drinking scotch. How does a bright and shiny Meredith deal with...
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The scrub room wasn't empty when Meredith walked in. She had been hoping to find Derek there, still scrubbing out, so that she could say something, anything, after he had told her he was done teaching her. She didn't feel ready. It wasn't time for them to be over, even if all they had was her education. They weren't done yet, or at least she wasn't. She was prepared to tell him that, but then she saw her mother standing there, her arms crossed, dressed in the black scrubs she was rarely seen in these days. She looked down at her own grey ones as she peeled her protective gown off, and the parallel almost made her laugh, even though it wasn't quite funny. Her mother had an army of little "Greys" running around her hospital, a narcissistic allusion to the unspoken promise that Seattle Grace would produce the next Ellis Grey. All those Greys providing a steady pipeline of praise and admiration for their creator, and yet Meredith hadn't even been given the curtesy of her own birthright until she took it on her own.
It was curiously hard to be her mother's daughter.
"I heard an emergent case bumped my morning surgery," Ellis said. "When I saw Shepherd on the board I didn't expect much, but he has you flying solo already."
"I've been assisting," Meredith said, grabbing a bar of soap and putting her hands under the running faucet.
"Yes," her mother said, "but I wasn't sure how much you were learning."
"If you have so little confidence in Dr. Shepherd I'm surprised you keep him on," Meredith said. "Although I've found him to be a good teacher."
"I'm sure," Ellis said. She leaned a hip on the scrub sink. "You did quite well in there, I admit. I thought to assign you to Neuro your second year, you have the hands for it, but there was so little promise coming out of the department that I didn't want to waste your talent there."
Meredith fought to keep from sighing. Dramatics never helped when speaking to her mother. "You mean you didn't want to waste your legacy there. I never liked Cardio, you know. I never should have taken that specialty."
"That was your decision," Ellis said. "I have given every resident the choice, and it has worked out splendidly so far. Fifteen Harper Averies between our alumni, countless journal covers and news articles..."
"Fifty-four department heads, eight-hundred-sixty-seven patents... Yes, I know, mother." Meredith turned off the faucet and dried her hands. "I don't question your legacy."
"And you are part of it," Ellis said. "You are a Grey now, and I just saw you clip an aneurism faster than any resident I've seen. You'll make a fine surgeon."
"So you're going to take credit for your work and mine, too?" Meredith asked. "I did this on my own, for me. I put in the paperwork, the hours, and most of the time I found the cases."
"You took charge," Ellis said. "It's something I've been trying to teach you your entire life. I'm trying to tell you I'm proud of you, Meredith."
"I don't need your praise," Meredith said. "I know how well I've done. I know I will pass my boards and that I'm prepared for whatever fellowship I choose."
