Royal Blood ▪︎ Grey's Anatomy

episode eighty six

Knox rolls over and feels the bed beside him. He frowns and sits up, Isobel coming out of the bathroom fully dressed. "Yo, come back to bed." He mumbles.

"No." She snaps, not entirely meaning to. She sighs as she sits on the edge of the bed to pull her heels on. "We can't keep doing this..."

"You said that last time then we ended up right here." He smirks, leaning on his elbow as he watches her back.

Isobel sighs and closes her eyes for a minute before looking over. "Knox... you're 16 years younger than me. You're only slightly older than my marriage was."

"So?" He gets up and pulls his boxers on. "You and I are having fun there isn't any harm in that."

"Yes there is. I'm your teacher!" She stands and spins around to face him.

"That sounds so dirty, you're my lecturer." He scowls as he grabs a hoodie.

"It is dirty!" She throws her hands up and tugs her hair. "You don't see it. You're too young and naive."

"Yet you've been bedding me almost every night for the last month." He snaps as he glares at her. He ties his hair back and grabs his joggers angrily. "Why you always gotta ruin shit? Yknow, for the first time in months, I woke up happy, smiling, looking forward to the day ahead." He huffs. "What's your problem."

"This! Us!" She motions harshly between them. "You could lose your career, I could lose mine-"

"So? We're consenting adults, we made a choice." He shrugs glaring. "Sounds like a you problem."

Isobel sighs and covers her face for a moment. "We need...  separation. Why don't you go see your mom? I'll buy you-"

"I don't want anything from you thanks. Get out." He snaps and points behind him. "Go."

Isobel sighs and grabs her bag and jacket, rushing out. The door slams a moment later and Knox sinks onto the bed with a deep sigh, head in hands for a moment. It's been pretty nice with Isobel the last few weeks. No pressures, no pain. Pleasure. Fun. Laughter. The odd argument because she always comes back to that.

He's 16 years younger than her.

She's his teacher - lecturer, mentor, supervisor, whatever.

He grabs his phone and pulls the charger out, scrolling for a moment. He hovers over Meredith and hits call, setting it on speaker as he grabs his case.

"Knox Knox Knox, why hello. What can I do for you?"

"Chief Grey, always a pleasure." He smiles a little as he shoves clothes in. "Can I... can I ask a favour?"

"You can." Meredith as skeptically. Knox doesn't call - must be serious.

He takes a deep breath and leans his head back. "I need to come home. Like, now. I haven't seen Nor since she almost died, I miss the kids, I miss you, I-"

"Hey, I get it it's okay. I'll book the next flight I can find for you and give you a call back okay? Breathe." She says gently. "Is this a NA sort of thing?"

"I don't think so... maybe I'll call Amelia." He adds after a moment thought. "Can you not tell mom? Not yet... I need to speak with you first." He asks.

"Sure... Knox, what did you do?" She asks slowly, concerned.

"Nothing... entirely." He sighs. "Just... I don't wanna talk over the phone. Okay?"

"Okay. You got it. I'll call you back ASAP." She promises.

And she does. With a flight booked in less than an hour. Knox grabs everything, turns everything he can off in his little apartment and locks up, running down to the taxi. He runs through the airport and just makes it, the second to last passenger. Within 3 hours, he's grabbing his case and heading out to see Meredith leant on her car.