A Fight to Remember

Stupid Alzheimer's Pt. 2

A/N: Picking up where we left off...

Meredith

I barely felt the rain as I stormed out. Breathe, I told myself. Just breathe. Stupid fucking resident, who did he think he was? A physical exam was a basic principle, and just because he was working in a clinic, not a- a-a... Stupid fucking resident... how dare he talk to me that way! I am the Chief of Surgery. The Chief! I should give him a piece of my mind!

A sudden giggle escaped my lips. I probably should keep as many pieces of my mind as possible... my brain was shrinking. Everyday, a few thousand brain cells were dying, forming plaques and tangles in my brain structure, blocking off connections to my memory... right now, my hippocampus probably looked like a sponge, small holes everywhere, gaps where-

What was I doing? I stopped, I was at a street corner. What? Where was I? I looked around, trying to get my bearings. The street was familiar but... I didn't know where I was supposed to go. I felt in my pockets for my phone, I should call someone... Zola. I should call Zola. But my phone... it was gone.

I waited in a line. A coffee shop or a cafe or something. The person in front of me ordered something, paid, and moved along to wait for her order. Automatically I stepped forward, staring at the menu.

"Hello, what can I get for you?" The perky barista asked. She was blonde, and her cheerfulness reminded me of Izzie.

But the jumble of words above me made no sense. A frappa-cappa what? An image came to mind of a hot sweet foamy drink. That's what I wanted. With the coffee-shot. What was it called? I had it earlier with Bailey. "Umm, I'll have... you know it has that white stuff that-uh comes from a cow- I mean foam and... don't you shoot it with something? I mean inject-"

I couldn't remember. People behind me hummed impatiently. I played nervously with my fingers as I gaped, at a sudden loss of words. Milk. Sugar. Chocolate. Beans. Mixed together, that's what I wanted... but how do I say it?

"Ma'am?" The barista asked. I continued to stare at the menu, hoping something would make sense.

"Mom?"

Someone touched my shoulder. I jumped and turned around. It was Ellis. A sigh of relief escaped me when I saw her. Finally, something tangible and familiar. Still... "Ellis, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in school?"

"C'mon mom, go sit down, I'll make you a mocha latte, just how you like it." She led me to a worn tan leather couch.

Mocha latte. That was it. That was what I wanted. "Oh, thank you. Yes please."

I watched her leave and go behind the counter- what was she doing there? But then I remembered that I needed to pay for the drink and I reached into the pockets of my lavender scrubs for some change, or maybe my wallet, but my pockets were empty. Where was my purse?

Stupid Alzheimer's

My hands filled with heat as Ellis passed me the drink, and I sipped eagerly, thankful for the drink to warm me up. But Ellis seemed worried. Her usual fun-loving blue eyes were clouded with a darker shade of worry and I became nervous. Obviously something happened. I did something.

"Mom, don't you still have another hour at the clinic?"

I looked at my watch, but it was a useless exercise. I didn't even remember what shift I was supposed to be working. "I don't know?"

"Mom?" Ellis probed.

Stupid Alzheimer's again. "I think a few more brain cells died today El," I said with a shaky smile. "Down a few hundred thousand or so..."