fragments of my life [MERDER]

FIFTEEN

Alex knew Meredith, and Meredith absolutely hated - no, loathed - asking for help with anything, ever. 

She hated the notion of not being independent, she hated the idea of having to be 'saved', and so for Meredith to cry and whimper and plead for Alex to come out to Boston because she needed his help, he knew that she needed it; Alex knew he had to leave to her as soon as he could. Evading the entire surgical department, evading Derek, Cristina, Lexie... it was a tough ask, but Alex knew he had to do it for Meredith. How ever many times Meredith had assured him that she had forgiven him, he felt partially responsible for her entire situation. He wanted to be there for the person that had always been there for him, even when everybody else wanted nothing to do with him, wanted to see him fail. 

Alex found it hard to look Derek in the eyes after finding out Meredith was pregnant with his children, his twins, and hadn't told him. He felt like he would accidentally let the news slip and Meredith would not want to speak to him ever again, and after already feeling what that felt like, he didn't want to return to that point. Meredith had told him to clear his 'trip' with the Chief, because he already knew where Meredith was, and Richard wouldn't mind. 

Alex just missed his best friend, and he would do anything he needed to get her back. 

Lexie was suspicious of Alex and his sudden 'disappearance'. No fifth year resident in their right mind randomly decides to go visit their mother at a moments notice, hearing that Alex had left to Iowa to go and see his mother from Cristina. Lexie didn't believe a word of it. Lexie was more than intelligent, photographic memory levels of intelligent, so she did not accept that Alex was simply 'in Iowa with his mother'.

His mother, Lexie huffed, thinking. Do you know what else starts with the letter M?

Meredith. 

Alex was probably with Meredith, Lexie thought. That's why he'd dropped everything and left, why he was so secretive about where he was going, who he was going to see. Knowing that it might be about Meredith, Lexie decided not to press anyone for information. She just wanted her sister to be happy.

Lexie rolled her eyes as she entered the scrub room with Derek and Bailey. It seems that Derek had a setback in therapy, quit it all together, and relapsed into his foul, angry moods with everyone again. The only person he could talk to without screaming nowadays was Mark. Meredith had been gone for just over two months now, and Derek's heart was shattering with every passing second. Lexie could tell that her brotherly... big brother, was not all right. How could he be, Lexie contemplated. How could Derek, Meredith's husband, be anywhere near a functioning human being when Lexie herself was falling apart? Lexie decided to give Derek the benefit of the doubt and just try not to do anything that would lead him to take his rage out on her.

The trio were working on a trauma patient who had fallen from a ladder at his home, sustaining head trauma, a frontal lobe haematoma, to be more exact, and a grade IV liver tear. Lexie just did as Derek asked, not opening her mouth, even to ask a question.

"So, Dr. Shepherd." Dr. Bailey asked, either just trying to make conversation in the dead silent OR, or because she was genuinely curious how much longer the surgery would take, as she had just completed her part of the repair. "How long do you think you'll be?"

"I don't know Bailey. I wouldn't want this patient to die, and I don't want to feel like I'm being pressed for time." Derek spat.

Lexie just looked, her mouth agape under her surgical mask and her pupils dilated as she witnessed the scene in front of her. Derek was poking the bear, and he was going to get bit. No one dared talk to Dr. Bailey like that without expecting to feel her wrath; and Bailey had just about had enough.