Willa Shepherd knew hardships. Knew heartbreak, knew fear, knew loss, knew that never-ending feeling of doubt and seemingly irrevocable damage.
What she didn't know?
That working at the same hospital as her older brother wasn't the end of the world...
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𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟
If Derek Shepherd was asked his opinions on his sisters, he'd lament the same rehearsed response he always did: "Very girly - Tons of kids.". That wasn't exactly true, and that was why he said it. Much better than getting candid about the two he'd raised...And how they were the two 'fuck-up's' of the family.
Amelia was five when Derek moved into the cramped, dingy basement bedroom to be close to hers, knowing she couldn't sleep unless she knew he was near, and Amelia was fourteen when he caught her high on their roof, laughing to herself and staring up at the sky.
Willa was a new-born when Derek built a second crib in his room, as he didn't want his mother dealing with the grief of her dead husband and a screaming infant all at once, and Willa was twelve when Derek got a call from the hospital, his little sister had overdosed on pills and almost died.
He supposed it was lying really, but he couldn't face the facts; The two youngest Shepherd's addiction problems were his fault, and so, he'd spent his life (so far) trying to help and support them. Amelia didn't want his help, she'd explicitly told him that in a screaming match in Jersey, surrounded by thunder and dingy street lamps. Willa on the other hand, had shown up at his door unexpectedly, trying to hide a suitcase behind her, and the raindrops running down her wide smile.
"What the hell are you doing here?" He demanded, blinking rapidly to try and keep himself awake - He'd only just gotten home from a fourteen-hour surgery and wasn't in the mood to hear whatever excuse Willa had to be in Seattle when she lived in New York.
"What does it look like, jackass?" She snarled, dropping the friendly facade and gesturing to her suitcase, not even trying to hide it anymore, "I'm moving in."
"No you're not," Derek could tell his sister was sober, and therefore, he could still shun her, as she'd spent far too much time with his cheating ex-wife, not to mention, he only gave her his address for emergencies, and this clearly wasn't one.
"Oh come on, Der," She whined, pouting her lip and trying to shimmy past him in the door frame (Which she did successfully after kicking his shin, causing him to double over in pain and leave a gap for her to fit through), "I'm really down on my luck, and coming here was the only option I had."
"No, It's not." He gritted out, one hand clutching the door frame, the other nursing his throbbing shin, "We have four sisters for a reason," He narrowed his eyes as he watched her make herself at home in his too-small-for-one-person trailer and drop down onto the sofa, "The reason being you bother them, not me."
"But none of them live in Seattle!" She argued, trying not to laugh or smile as she could tell her was getting more and more irritated by the second, especially as his frown lines became more apparent as he waited for her to give a better explanation, which she sighed before continuing, "And I have a job-" She frowned, then corrected herself, "-A very, very important job, here in Seattle."
