Growing Pains

8

A/N: This takes place during SVU 8X06 Infiltrated, when Olivia is undercover as an environmental activist. Except I've set the story in Seattle, not Portland. For Greys, this is after the house of candles but before Meredith asks Derek to move in. (Between season 4 and 5)

October 2006

"Dr. Grey, you're needed in the pit." Bailey said, and Meredith sighed. She'd heard the news. The police decided to take down a group of activists and now they had to deal with the aftermath. So now the pit would be overrun with bumps and bruises and annoying cops. Great. She wanted a tumor, or a bleed. She wanted to cut into someone's body and fix things. It would take her mind off of her recurring nightmare of losing Derek.

She strode into the trauma room and a nurse handed her a chart, "Bed three, concussion, still unconscious."

Meredith took the clipboard and examined the info. What kind of name was Persephone? A hippie name for sure, she decided. She walked up to the bed, still taking in the information on the chart. Glancing at the patient on the bed, she noticed she was handcuffed to the side rail. "Why is my patient handcuffed?" she asked the nearby cop.

"None of your business ma'am,"

Meredith huffed. "Of course it's my business, she's going to wake up and not be too happy that she's chained to a bed. She'll want an explanation. And don't get me started on what you'll have to do if I need to order an MRI..."

The cop was nonplussed by her feisty attitude. "She's a suspect. That's all you need to know." He put his hands on his hips in a sort of swagger. Meredith rolled her eyes and set the clipboard on the patient's bed, reaching into her pocket for a penlight. That's when she noticed the patient. Besides the huge bruise on her head, she looked familiar... it couldn't be her, could it? What the heck? She finished her exam, but she was worried because Persephone wasn't waking up. She was about to order a head CT when there was a ruckus behind her. Bailey was pushing a gurney with a bleeding patient through the trauma bay. "Grey! A little help here!"

Meredith bolted into action, handing the clipboard to Lexie, who'd just stumbled in. "She needs a head CT, and page me with the results."

"Meredith - I-" Lexie started, but Meredith didn't hear anymore. She wanted in on a surgery.

xxx

Olivia winced. Her head was throbbing. She blinked, but the lights were too bright. "Mmm," she moaned.

"Persephone?" Someone asked.

Who's Persephone? Olivia thought. Oh right, she was Persephone. God, how did she get into these messes? Catch the bad guy, that's all she wanted to do. She opened her eyes to see a young brunette doctor peering over her. "Ohh." she said again, reaching to feel her head. She winced at the sudden pain erupting from the bruise on her forehead. When she moved her left hand, it jerked, and she felt metal around her wrist. Handcuffed to the bed? What the hell?

"Persephone?" The doctor asked again. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got hit in the head."

The young doctor, and she was young, smiled a little. "I'm Dr. Grey. You had quite a knock there, and you weren't waking up, so we ordered a head CT to confirm your concussion and it turns out you have a very minor bleed-"

"Bleed?" Olivia asked. What did that mean?

"A small blood vessel in your brain burst, but it should clot and resolve on it's own. You'll have a huge headache for awhile, and possibly some nausea and dizziness, but we've got you on some medications to alleviate most of those symptoms."

"Oh." Olivia said.

"We'll be monitoring you for at least twenty-four hours so you'll just have to sit tight for now."

"Oh," She said again. Something nagged at her though... Did that doctor just say that her name was Dr. Grey? "Dr. Grey..." she said aloud, "Any relation to Meredith?"

"Meredith?" Dr. Grey asked, "Oh, she's my sister. How do you know her?" She asked curiously.

Olivia opened her mouth to say something, but the other woman kept talking...

"I just met her like... a few months ago, I mean, I knew I had a half sister, but my dad- he didn't really talk about her much and so I never thought I'd actually really meet her, but then-"

"Lexie!" A voice snapped, startling Dr. Grey. Her eyes went wide as she turned around. "Meredith, I didn't know you knew Persephone..."

Olivia peered over Lexie's shoulder and saw a familiar shock of dirty blonde hair. "Uh... You have the CT scan?" Meredith asked.

"Yes, I-"

"Good. Go find Sloan, he's got a surgery for you."

"Really?"

"Yes- now go!"

"Wait, I should fill you in a little on her condition..." They stepped further away and Olivia couldn't hear them anymore.

Olivia sighed. She was undercover. No one was supposed to know she was in law enforcement. She wondered if Meredith recognized her. She wondered what would happen. Hopefully the good doctor would go with it.

A moment later the curtain swooshed and Meredith walked in, chart in hand. Her white lab coat seemed a little big on her and her hair was tied back in a messy ponytail... but she seemed different, something about her was different. A good different. Meredith plunked the chart on the foot of the bed and removed the penlight from her labcoat, "I'm just going to do a quick exam," she said, and Olivia submitted to her ministrations. Her moves were quick and professional. "Okay, looks like everything is good here." Then she sat back on the bed, "Persephone is an interesting name," She said finally. "You undercover or something?"

"Or something," Olivia replied, dipping her chin and raising her brows, subtly asking her to keep her secret.

Meredith shrugged. "I'm a doctor. Patient confidentiality and all..."

Relief flooded her. She was already in trouble with the local cops here, she didn't need anymore complications. "Good."

Meredith smiled, "So who's Elliot?"