𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 | 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘺'𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘺 | 𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘄 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘂𝗰𝗮

- apastron -

Seattle ---- New York: ON TIME

Kat scanned the departure board ahead of her, cross-referencing it with the last-minute flight ticket that she had shakily found while embarking on her 'great escapade' in the back of an Uber from the hospital. Soon, she'd be on that plane, and back to New York. Soon, it would all be over.

Soon, Andrew Deluca would just be a name on a list of people that she used to know. Soon, Jo and Stephanie would forget that they ever knew her. Soon, Arizona would return to a home, devoid of all traces of her flaky younger sister. Soon, Grey Sloan would remain unchanged-- and so would Kat.

And it would be just like the past few months had never happened...

______________________

Kat was on her fifth vending machine black coffee, but the regret still hadn't seeped into her mind, and so she was still fixated on the idea of returning to the hellish landscape of a New York that had once held her in venomous clutches.

It wasn't the best decision, sure, but Kat was far past making 'good' or 'bad' decisions-- her feet were rooted uncomfortably to the floors of the airport (which could definitely use some emergency cleaning, but that was besides the point).

Running away was so fucking typical. It was so on-brand for Kat that it was almost laughable.

Except she wasn't laughing.

The first time that she'd ever stepped foot in Seattle, Kat had already been expecting to make a hasty getaway. Not even five minutes in a stuffy Seattle cab, and Kat was already longing for the black mould and dingy smell of her cramped New York apartment. Against her better judgement, Kat pined for New York-- there was a magnetic pull. Some would even call it 'an affliction'.

Except, that feeling slowly subsided, as she started to be enveloped by Seattle. If only the city, and the people hadn't been so damn welcoming. She started to become used to a new sense of self that slotted perfectly into Seattle, like a forgotten puzzle piece, swept under the rug and discovered at a messy family reunion years after the face. And that was largely due to one specific person.

Andrew Deluca had kept fucking trying, despite Kat's abrasive attitude, backhanded remarks and lack of interest in being anything other than a complete pain in the ass. Except, Andrew didn't give up on her, and eventually (and Kat didn't even know how), he broke down the tough walls of her exterior, and uncovered a much different version of Kat Robbins. A version that she rarely showed anyone-- except Andrew. He actually saw Kat...for Kat.

But they hadn't drawn clear lines in the sand, nor had they set out the sort of boundaries that friends are supposed to respect, and not cross. Andrew had almost kissed her, and Kat had almost fucking fallen for him. There was truth in what Stephanie said, and that was what scared her the most. Caring-- and Kat didn't do a lot of it, but when she did, it was intense.

And she was afraid. Afraid of how she felt about him. Afraid of having a 'thing' for 'the nice guy', and mostly afraid of admitting that to herself. So, she had to run as far away from her feelings as she could.

That was the Kat way-- and it had protected her before, and would protect her once again.

What was it that she said before--?

Self-preservation.

______________________

Kat was so wrapped up in the complexities of each decision in her head, that she hadn't even noticed her phone buzz, with a text notification. She turned it over in her hand to check, fearing the worst. What if it was Jo-- who really needed a friend in her time of crisis? What if it was more news about Andrew's condition, and what if he really had taken a turn for the worse?