Running in Circles - Lexie Grey x OC

Come Meet the Man I Need

Grey's Anatomy — Season 7 Episode 3

Surgical Wing — OR 1 Gallery

The operating room gallery was quiet.

Eric stood just inside the doorway, keeping to the shadows instead of stepping up to the glass. No one below would notice him there.

He had signed the privilege request himself.

One signature.

One clearance badge.

A pair of dark blue scrubs waiting outside the locker room.

Just another administrative decision.

At least, that was what he'd told himself.

Instead of returning to his office, he had come here. His gaze settled on the familiar blue scrub cap beneath the operating lights.

Fireworks.

The faded bursts of red, yellow, and white had softened with age, but he recognized the pattern immediately.

She still wore it.

For a fleeting moment, seven years disappeared.

He could almost hear her complaining that the disposable scrub caps never fit properly, insisting this one was lucky because she'd worn it during her first solo aneurysm clipping.

The memory faded as quickly as it came.

Below, Amelia worked beside Derek with effortless confidence.

She no longer searched for reassurance before committing to the next step.

She no longer hesitated.

Every movement was economical. Every instruction calm. Every decision deliberate.

The uncertain resident he'd once known had long since disappeared.

In her place stood a neurosurgeon who belonged.

A quiet ache settled beneath his ribs.

She had done it.

She had become everything she'd fought to become.

Not because of him.

Not despite him.

Simply because she had never stopped fighting.

For the first time in years, the guilt that had followed him from Baltimore... felt smaller.

Perhaps she'd never needed him as much as he'd convinced himself she had.

Perhaps she'd simply needed someone to believe she could become this.

And she had.

Below, Amelia leaned back from the microscope with a satisfied smile.

"You know, I do this for a living."

The corner of Eric's mouth twitched despite himself.

Some things never changed.

"Done." She grinned. "Wow. Would you look at that? I have impressed even myself."

Cristina stepped away from the table. "So you're done. I can go?"

"I am done."

Cristina turned and headed for the doors.

Amelia watched her leave.

"How did she get past her internship?"

"Shut up," Derek replied without looking up.

"Derek, come on. She's a dud."