B E T T Y | Grey's Anatomy

2

Betty's mind is reeling. Amelia hasn't changed. Okay, her hair is longer, her skin barer than it ever used to be, making the doctor look more youthful, more approachable. There's less of a hardness about Amelia, more of a fragility. Betty wonders if she's done the wrong thing, calling by this late at night.

Would the neurosurgeon want to see her foster child after a year of zero contact? The few months in which Betty stayed with Amelia were tumultuous at best. First, there was the most pressing issue- the drugs. Amelia took Betty to be her first sponsee, her ex-husband having adopted Betty's son Leo. That's how the pair met. Together, the ex, Owen, and Amelia decided to try and raise the unconventional family but after a relapse too many, Amelia made the decision to put Betty in rehab. Next, there was the lying. Betty is not called Betty. Betty is called Brittany. Amelia chose to never adopt that name for her temporary daughter, more comfortable with the Betty she came to know than the Brittany shrouded in lies. Amelia was under the impression that she was talking to Betty's parents weekly when the girl was in rehab, however she soon found out she was speaking to Betty's friend. Her parents had no idea where their daughter was. Owen's adoption of Leo was in jeopardy when Betty went back to her parents, but after a while, Leo was returned to his rightful father, officially becoming Leo Hunt.

Amelia's mind is in a similar state. Betty was 15, almost 16 when she last saw her. The girl, now 17, looks eerily unfamiliar. The voice is exactly the same, scratchy, with cold dry air irritating Betty's throat. Amelia had a humidifier in Betty's room for that exact purpose, noticing the teenagers sensitivities instantly. The mousy brown hair is darker now, almost as Brunette as Amelia's undyed hair. Betty's cheeks are unequally sunken, and swollen from some kind of impact, the rest of her thin body only highlighting the swelling. What makes Amelia's heart crumble though, is the coat Betty is wrapped in. The very same beige coat Amelia grabbed from lost and found to keep the teenager warm after one of her last highs. The coat became a symbol of the mutual trust and understanding between the addicts. It was a peace offering on Amelia's part. She wasn't mad that Betty ran away, abandoned her son and gave up on family , all for drugs. She had done the same. Betty taking the coat was her way of thanking Amelia for a grace she didn't deserve, and allowing herself to lean into the comfort the surgeon was offering. Despite Betty being daughter and Amelia being Mother for months, the pair only probably shared three hugs. Touch was something neither of them had an affinity for. The neediness of Scout Derek Shepherd Lincoln knocked that right out of Amelia though.

"What ...... Wha- come in!" Amelia manages to blurt out.

Betty considers her options but crosses the dividing line into the Shepherd gulf nevertheless.

"I like your place." she mumbles, head still to the floor.

Amelia speaks as she re-bolts the door.

"Thanks. Only been here for a few weeks."

"It's tidy." Betty observes.

"I like to tidy." It's true. It's the ground that Amelia's sanity is built on.

"No you don't."

"I do now!" Amelia replies.

"Oh." The grunt is loaded with how little the pair know about each other now. A year is a very long time.

Amelia sits on the couch, and Betty lowers herself slowly, wincing at a certain flex of her thigh. The cushions seem to scare Betty,if judging by how close to the edge of the couch she perches, how rigidly straight her back is. Betty stares at Amelia, as if asking for permission to sit comfortably as if she didn't lounge on this very couch a year earlier, all be it in a different house.

"Do you want a drink?" Amelia stands again, feeling the need to fill the uncomfortable silence and occupy her mind.

"No thank you."