𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘶𝘮𝘢, 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥𝘺 - 𝙂𝙧𝙚𝙮'𝙨 𝘼𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙢𝙮 (ON HOLD)

fifty - two - "ellis grey's journals" - fifty - two

"We're trained to be vigilant. To chase down the problem. To ask all the right questions. To find the root cause, until we know exactly what it is. And we can confront it. It takes an extreme amount of caution, or we can overstep ourselves. We can create problems, where none exist. Our intentions are always pure, we always want to do what's right. But we also have the drive to push boundaries, so we're in danger of taking things too far. We're told to do no harm, while we're trained to cut you open with a knife. So, we do things, when we should have left well enough alone. Because it's hard to admit when there's no problem to treat. To let it alone, before we make it so much worse. Before we cause terrible damage."
-Meredith Grey, S8E17, "One Step Too Far"

"We have a phrase in the operating rooms: don't pet the lion. It means, no matter how nice the tumor looks, how small it is, how perfect its margins may be, it's still a tumor. It's still dangerous, and it can bite. We've all heard the warnings and we've ignored them. We push our luck, we roll the dice, we play with fire. It's human nature, when we're told not to touch something, we usually do even if we know better. Maybe because deep down we're just asking for trouble."
-Meredith Grey, S8E18, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight"

"Every little kid knows the words to the song: the foot bone is connected to the leg bone, the leg bone is connected to the knee bone. In med school, you learn it's a little more complicated than that. But still, the song is not wrong. Everything is connected.The human body is made up from systems that keep it alive. There's the one that keeps you breathing, and the one that keeps you standing, the one that makes you hungry, and the one that makes you happy. They're all connected. Take a piece out, and everything else falls apart. And it's only when our support systems look like they might fail us, that we realize how much we depended on them all along."
-Meredith Grey, S8E19, "Support System"

"When you're a kid, you always want things to stay the same. The same teacher, the same house, the same friends... Being a surgeon is no different. You get used to the same Attendings, same scrub nurses, the same hospital. Of course, that all changes the minute your fifth year comes around. And you have to find a new job. It's one of those things people say: you can't move on until you've let go of the past. Letting go is the easy part. It's the moving on that's painful. So sometimes we fight it, trying to keep things the same. Things can't stay the same though. At some point you just have to let go, move on. Because no matter how painful it is, it's the only way we grow."
-Meredith Grey, S8E20, "The Girl With No Name"

"Come back to me." Derek told Meredith, driving out of the school parking lot after dropping Anna off, with Zola babbling in the backseat.

"I'm not coming back." Meredith said.

"You miss it."

"What's to miss about neuro?"

"Me." Derek pleaded, wanting to start working with her again.

"We decided it was a bad idea."

"Well, that was before, when we were trying to get Zola back. I miss you. Just come back for one day. Remember the mystery... the magic... gliomas... meningiomas... astrocytomas?"

Meredith shrugged, resting her head against the car window. She was hesitant about working in neurology again. What if they didn't work well together? What if things have changed after all this time?

"What time is Anna finished?" Meredith asked, changing the subject.

"The test will take a few hours. Probably all morning. Longer if she has trouble with some of the questions." Derek answered.

Anna looked around the crowded high school gym, that was dead silent, as the SAT packets were being passed out. Anna held her mechanical pencil in her hand and hoped she wouldn't have to deal with a low during the test. By law, she was able to have accomendations for her diabetes. She chose to take the test with everyone else and not by herself in some random classroom. If she needed to check her blood sugar, or take a break, she was able to without it counting against her. Her insulin pump, and diabetes kit, did get a few curious stares.