Home (Grey's Anatomy Series)

Frequent Questions & Future Directions

What is going to happen to Elena and Jackson?

These two are going to live out the rest of their lives out in Boston, working on their private practice while raising their children. There was a reason why I didn't really write about why Boston is important to Elena and it was an obvious answer. She left Philly for Boston, attended undergrad and medical school, and met Ellis Grey. It was the city that changed her entire life while introducing her to another. I figured that because Boston didn't have negative memories for Elena and that she could be at peace to raise her kids there and grow old with Jackson, which is the entire point of the title.

Would you ever write a 'What If' book about to Mark and Elena or Elena and Ethan?

It sounds tempting, but if I ever re-edit the series, I would make changes and show more about Mark and Elena's relationship before killing/cutting them off. I wrote this book years ago, and was too excited to write about Jackson and Elena to even care about Mark's story with her. Writing a spin-off about Mark and Elena would just be a continuous happy story with a few troubles, like cheating or random offspring showing up. And if I did one for Elena and Ethan, it would just look like an unhappy marriage, with Elena possibly cheating or the relationship turning violent.

What changes would you have made to Jackson and Elena's relationship?

Nothing. I love both characters as they are. I didn't want Jackson to play Prince Charming and try to save Elena. I did make him more vulnerable around her, which is something he doesn't show a lot in the series. There were times when I asked myself if I wrote him out to be too in love with Elena since he himself didn't have a lot of troubles. But in the end, it came together because he does love Elena more, and though Elena has had trouble showing that love, she shows it in other ways, like listening or supporting him. Because of how I wrote her character's past, she's the type of lover that will support you from afar and will only come close if you need her.

What makes Elena and Jackson's relationship more special than Mark and Elena or Ethan and Elena?

Her relationship with Mark wasn't the lovie-dovie type. She didn't show love and affection the same way Mark did, and neither did he. Reasons why he thought that maybe to save their relationship from falling apart was to have her adopt Sloan so that they could feel like a normal family. They also had a hard time trying to communicate and only did so whenever something wrong happened. Not to mention Mark was just full of complications and a history of adultery. Though, in the end, she did really love him because they have so much history together and they grew to be comfortable with one another. Now, for Ethan and Elena, it was different. Ethan's love was one-sided and relied on years of friendship that never went anywhere. I never wrote enough about Ethan, but I envisioned his life with divorced parents who were successful and loved him, something Elena didn't have a lot of. While Ethan wasn't unattractive nor was he a bad person, to her, the life he created was too perfect, and fit a more fairytale style that she didn't think she deserved. Jackson, on the other hand, was the black sheep of his family. Although many joked about it because he's pretty and good-looking, it mainly dealt with race. He was different from the rest of his family based on his looks, eventually using that to his advantage later on. Once Elena and Jackson meet, they relate and comfort one another because of that, nonetheless forming a friendship-turned relationship.

Would you have written 'Home' differently?

There are changes I wish I would've made. Like the chapter involving Denny Duquette's father showing up, I have no idea what I was thinking. I wish I could just delete that entire chapter, or maybe just change it to Lizzie and have Elena claim the check on her behalf. Another part I would've changed was adding more to Mark and Elena's relationship. I feel like I started their relationship so late into the book, I don't understand how so many of you shipped Elena and Mark so quickly when he died 10 chapters into the book. The third change would've been changing Lexie and keeping her as Meredith's sister. I think it got confusing for some when they saw that Lexie Grey was now Lexie Thomas and I didn't understand why I had done that. The fourth change would've been the timeline between when Elena was born and Leo's other daughters. In my head, Molly is supposed to be the oldest, then Elena, then Lexie. Like Leo also had an affair with Carolyn, but got back together with his wife to have Lexie a few years after without Elena knowing. Lastly, clearing up Theo's age. I know it was a confusing topic to some, especially with how smart I made him seem due to his age, so that is something I would like to edit and clear up.