Sutures and Secrets || Mark Sloan

30 | Haunted by History

04x05

The house was quiet, except for the faint hum of activity in the kitchen. It was late, well past midnight, but sleep wasn't coming easily for Izzie, Alex or Charlie.

Izzie had decided to bake, because that was her solution to everything. A pumpkin-shaped cake sat on the counter and she was busy adding ghost-shaped decorations. Alex and Charlie were seated at the table, carving faces into pumpkins, though their results were - questionable at best.

"You're awful at this.", Charlie teased Alex, holding up her own pumpkin, which had sharp, perfectly chiseled features. "This is why you'll never be a surgeon."

Alex smirked, not missing a beat. "And this is why you'll never have friends." He held up his pumpkin, a mess of uneven cuts. It was horrifying, but intentionally so.

"Scary is the goal.", he added.

Before Charlie could retort, Meredith shuffled into the kitchen, her hair a mess, an urn clutched tightly in her hands. The three of them froze, their casual chatter dying instantly as they exchanged bewildered glances.

"What are you doing up?", Meredith asked, her voice flat, but her eyes hollow.

"We couldn't sleep." Izzie said quickly, pointing to the cake.

Meredith didn't answer. Instead, she set the urn on the counter and grabbed a large ziplock bag from a nearby drawer.

"What's - going on? What is that?", Charlie asked cautiously, her eyebrows knitting together as Meredith unscrewed the urn's lid.

Meredith sighed, glancing at them as though it should be obvious. "It's my mother."

Izzie stopped mid-decoration. Charlie's carving knife paused in mid-air.

Alex stared at her, deadpan. "Happy freaking Halloween."

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The next morning, the residents gathered in the lounge, watching Meredith hover by the shelves, clutching the ziplock bag of ashes. She inspected every spot like she was choosing a place for fine china, not a bag of cremated remains.

"What's going on?", Cristina asked as she walked in, glancing between them with a furrowed brow.

Meredith turned around at that. "It's my mother. She's haunting me, so I need to put her to rest."

Charlie smirked. "Now she's haunting us instead."

Meredith shot her a look but didn't deny it, resuming her search for the perfect resting place for the ashes.

Before anyone could comment further, the door opened and Callie and Bailey walked in. Callie's clipboard was clutched tightly in her hands, her tone brisk. "Listen up. It's Halloween, which means the pit is going to be overflowing with every disaster you can imagine. We're short-staffed, so you'll need to stay sharp and keep a close eye on your interns."

Izzie raised a hand hesitantly. "Should we start with rounds before the pit?"

Callie didn't even look at her, cutting her off mid-sentence. "Direct your questions to Dr. Bailey, Stevens."

Cristina raised a brow. "We're directing our questions to Dr. Bailey?"

Callie's eyes flicked over to Cristina briefly before snapping back to Izzie. "No, only she is."

Bailey glanced between them, her confusion matching the residents' own. "Why exactly is Stevens directing her questions at me?"

Callie straightened up, her voice sharper than a scalpel. "Because she's been sleeping with my husband."