Kissin' in the cold - A Christmas story

Seems we are getting older every day

Amelia didn't expect the plane to be so full. Maybe she should've, it's December 23rd and people want to go back home to spend Christmas with their families. She is the one person doing the exact opposite, leaving home, going away and she doesn't even know what she's looking for. Link actually asked her when she called him to explain why she needed him to take care of Scout for a few days. She didn't tell him about the gin, but she was pretty firm about really needing this time for herself.
"What are you looking for, Amelia? What can Rochester possibly give you that we - your family - can't?" he asked, in a desperate attempt to guilt trip her into staying.
"I don't know" she honestly told him. "But you need to let me find out."
Of course Amelia feels guilty about leaving her kid on Christmas, but she knows what's best for Scout can't be having an alcoholic mother and she just knows if she doesn't distract herself a little bit she'll end up being exactly that. Richard agreed with her on one condition: he made her promise to keep attending meetings online. She didn't have the guts to talk to either of her sisters in person. She'll call them later, hopefully they'll understand.
"I think you're in my seat, ma'am" an old man's voice interrupts her thoughts.
"What?"
"F1… I think you're in my seat, I'm seated by the window, I always seat by the window."
He points at it and Amelia can't help but notice his index finger trembling slightly. Parkinson's, she immediately thinks. Probably noticing her look, the man slowly puts his hand in his pocket, making her quickly look away.
"I'm sorry, I probably misread my ticket…" she says, taking it out of her purse to check it. He's right, she's in the same row but not seated by the window. She has the middle seat. Amelia sighs: that's the worst seat ever, squeezed between two strangers, no room for your arms, for four hours. Even worse, because she'll have to spend it next to a guy whose basal ganglia are saying adios, just like her friend Michelle's did, just like Meredith's could do in a few years…
"So much for a relaxing holiday!"
"What did you say?" asks the stranger now seated next to her.
"I'm sorry, I must've been thinking out loud" Amelia replies with a shrug.
"You said you are going on holiday? In Rochester?"
Amelia nods.
"Odd place to go for the holidays if I'm honest, but if you're looking for tranquillity I guess it makes sense. There's not much to do in Rochester, unless you're attending the Mayo Christmas Event."
"Is that a thing?" she asks with wide eyes. She's never heard of it, which is strange considering Mayo is the most famous hospital in the world. But the guy nods convincingly and she knows better than to contradict the sick and elderly. They don't talk for at least half an hour, in which Amelia fights to keep her curiosity at bay. The truth is she really wants to ask about this Mayo thing. She shakes her head, knowing it's probably a product of his imagination.
"It's a big private event we organize every year. Invited world-class physicians come from all over and there are conferences, speeches and lectures, but also concerts, a charity cookie exchange and a big ball."
Amelia chuckles, finally deciding this man is completely crazy.
"Yeah, that sounds… Wait, did you just say we?"
He looks at her with his small, piercing green eyes.
"My name is David Hamilton" he says, offering his trembling hand for her to shake. "I'm a neurosurgeon and chief of surgery of Mayo Clinic."
Amelia shakes his hand, honestly impressed.
"Amelia Shepherd. I'm… I'm also a neurosurgeon. I…"
"Shepherd as in…" he interrupts her.
She rolls her eyes.
"Derek Shepherd, yeah, he was my brother."
"No, that's not it. I meant Meredith Grey's sister. She told me about you, called you the best neurosurgeon in the world. It was very… What's the word? Humbling!" Hamilton replies, chuckling a little bit.
Amelia can't help but smile.
"You know Meredith."
"Hell yes! Dr Grey is the reason I came to Seattle. I tried to convince her to take up a project of mine. She said she'll think about it after the holidays and that she has to consult with you on this. I'm pretty sure she even tried to call you last night but it went straight to voicemail."
"Yeah, uhm… Last night wasn't a good time" she mutters, embarrassed thinking about how she could've been talking brains with them and instead she was fighting with her ex and trying not to get tempted by gin.
Hamilton doesn't seem to notice her embarrassment, he's just looking at her with a smirk.
"Well, it's a good thing I met you then. I can take you to the hospital in the afternoon and show you my research and ideas. That is if you have no other plans."
A big smile lights up Amelia's face.
"No plans at all" she excitedly tells him. This sounds way better than a relaxing holiday.
"There's just one small hiccup though…" he says after a few minutes of silence.
"What is it?"
"The cookie exchange is this afternoon, so we'll have to show up for that too."
"We?" Amelia asks skeptically.
"Oh yes, Amelia Shepherd. You are the best neurosurgeon in the world, I'm sure you can handle baking some cookies."
Amelia sighs, not sure she wants to put herself through the embarrassment of baking and selling homemade snowflake-shaped goodies, even if the prize is looking at David Hamilton's million dollar worth research.