Charlotte "Charlie" Shepherd is Derek Shepherd's youngest and favourite sister. After deciding to join him in moving to Seattle, in order to leave her past life behind, she starts her internship at Seattle Grace Hospital, where it eventually catches...
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03x08
It had been two days since Nancy's visit and Derek's painful discovery about Charlie and Mark. The day before, Derek had taken off on a camping trip with a few of their male colleagues. It wasn't unusual for him to do something like that. When he was angry or upset, he had the habit of retreating into nature.
The camping trip had given Charlie a brief reprieve, a day to collect her own scattered emotions without the added tension of Derek's avoidance. But today, he was back and the anxiety about facing his disappointment and the cold shoulder she knew she'd get made her feel jittery and uneasy all morning.
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Charlie walked into the locker room, spotting Izzie, Alex, George and Cristina all huddled around a chart. They didn't even look up when she entered. With a nervous sigh, she greeted them and started talking, mostly to herself, about how anxious she was about seeing Derek. "I swear, I haven't felt this on edge since med school exams.", she said, fidgeting with the zipper of her jacket. When no one acknowledged her, she paused, frustrated. „Hey, what are you guys looking at?"
Izzie finally lifted her head to explain. „George's dad got admitted last night."
Charlie's eyes widened in concern as she turned to George. „Is he okay? What happened?"
George nodded, though the worry was etched across his face. „He's gonna be okay. He passed out and fractured his clavicle. And he's been having abdominal pain that they need to check out."
Before Charlie could say anything else, Meredith walked in, practically glowing. Her bright, cheerful demeanour felt entirely out of place for her, given her usual gloom. „Good morning, everyone! The days of dark and twisty Meredith are over.", she announced, beaming. „Prepare to be completely annoyed by my happiness."
The group turned to her with confused and sceptical expressions. Charlie raised her eyebrows and after a moment, exhaled with a dramatic flair of sarcasm. „Oh, you definitely had sex.", she remarked, earning a few chuckles from the others. „That's why you're all shiny and bright."
Meredith opened her mouth to respond, but before she could say a word, Bailey stormed into the room, all business as usual. Her eyes narrowed when she spotted George with his dad's chart in hand. „O'Malley, why is your dad's chart in your lap?", she demanded, snatching it away. „You can't be his doctor."
George swallowed and nodded, looking sheepish. Bailey rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed and then started giving out assignments. „George, you're on scut duty. No complaints. Grey, head to the pit. Yang, you're with Burke. Karev, you're with Sloan and Steven's will shadow you. And Shepherd- ", she said, turning to Charlie. „You're with me. We're taking care of O'Malleys dad."
Charlie took a deep breath, feeling her nerves double. It was going to be a long day.
