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━━━Responsibility.
Responsibility evolves with age. At ten, you're expected to clean. At fifteen, you get your first job. At eighteen, you drive. And then comes adulthood — when you realize nothing you learned as a child about responsibility truly prepares you for life.
At the end, the truth finally surfaced — who was truly responsible for the death of Cathy Baker. It wasn't intentional. Just a mistake. A moment of distraction that ended in tragedy.
A woman lost her life — a mother, a wife.
April Kepner.
Althea was the one who remembered everything. Not surprising — she had an eidetic memory. And now, she wished she didn't.
She couldn't help but feel guilty. As if, in some cosmic way, she too had failed Cathy.
April wasn't a bad doctor. Just a human one. But in medicine, human mistakes come with the heaviest price tags — and not everyone can afford them.
Althea couldn't bear the way they whispered about April in the hallway. As if her name had become synonymous with failure. As if the grief wasn't enough.
She left the room and headed for the lounge.
All she wanted to do was pack her things, go home, and hold her daughter.
As she zipped up her bag, the door opened behind her.
"Oh, they thought everyone in Orange would be watching one of their own walk away."
Althea turned around. Mark Sloan. Of course.
She rolled her eyes and turned back to her bag.
"Tough crowd. Look, I'm sorry about your friend."
She paused.
"Are you?" she asked, flatly.
"Huh?"
"I mean, we're not exactly buddies. Everyone who worked at Seattle Grace loathes anyone from Mercy West. I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't care — just trying to act polite."
Mark blinked once. Twice. Then... he chuckled.
"You're right. I don't care."
Althea raised a brow, surprised by his bluntness.
"But I wasn't trying to be a dick. I was genuinely apologetic. Take it however you want."
He turned to his locker, started fiddling with it.
