Early Morning
Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital Campus
The morning air was crisp enough to sting Eric's lungs.
He settled into an easy rhythm along the familiar jogging trail surrounding the hospital campus, his footsteps echoing softly against the empty sidewalks. At this hour, Seattle had barely begun to wake. A handful of nurses crossed the parking lot toward the night entrance while the skyline slowly emerged beneath a pale orange sunrise.
Usually, running cleared his thoughts. This morning, it only sharpened them.
"No more secrets."
Lexie's voice lingered in his mind.
A small smile found him.
No more pretending they were only colleagues.
No more carefully timed conversations in deserted corridors.
No more stepping apart whenever someone rounded a corner.
He pictured her laughing the night before. The way she'd looked at him when she'd said it.
Then another memory slipped quietly into place.
Joe's Bar.
Daniel.
Lexie stirring her drink instead of looking at him.
"I tracked down all of them."
He remembered frowning.
"All of who?"
"My ex-boyfriends."
She'd laughed, but only because the alternative had been crying.
"I wanted to know if they'd all forgotten me."
The words had stayed with him.
Not because of Daniel.
Not because of the others.
Because of what she'd never actually said.
I don't want to be someone people forget.
Eric slowed. His pace gradually became a walk. He stopped beside the hospital entrance, watching the morning staff drift inside.
Employee Relationship Disclosure.
The answer came to him so suddenly it almost made him laugh.
He shook his head once. "...Right."
It wasn't about policy.
It wasn't about Human Resources.
It certainly wasn't about avoiding awkward conversations with administration.
Lexie had spent years wondering whether she'd been easy to leave behind.
Whether she'd simply become another name someone forgot.
Eric had absolutely no intention of letting her wonder that again.
He turned toward the parking lot.
There was just enough time to go home, shower, and arrive before Human Resources opened.
One signature.
One form.
One name.
Exactly where it belonged.
He started walking. A little faster than before.
- - - - -
Harper Lane Avenue — Meredith's House
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Running in Circles - Lexie Grey x OC
FanfictionPart 2 of Where We Might End Up Series The story follows the Chief of Neurosurgery, Eric Keaton and the third year surgical resident, Lexie Grey. Complication arises as past relationships haunts their present. Set during Grey's Anatomy Season 7 and...
