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lena-in-a-red-dress · 30 days ago

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Greys Anatomy AU - Lilliana at Seattle Grace Pt 4

What Lena doesn't know, however, is that Meredith overheard what Lena had told Lexie. About Lex, about Lillian, about the slap. The similarities to her own experiences rile her up, to the point that when Lexie tells her about Lena's resignation, Meredith storms into the chief's office the very next day.

"I quit."

Webber stares at her, then frowns. "If this is about Dr. Luthor..."

"If you hire that woman, I'm gone."

That's all she gives before blowing out of the room in a cloud of steaming anger. And then, as word of Meredith's ultimatum spreads, the dominoes start to fall.

One by one, the residents closest to Meredith deliver their own intent to resign if Lillian were hired. Even Christina, as much as it pains her, joins the movement.

"Let me guess, Yang," Webber drawls when Christina shows up in his office. "You refuse to work with Lillian Luthor."

Stiff and patently uncomfortable, Christina nods. "Yes."

Webber scowls. "You don't seem the type to sacrifice you career for an intern."

"I'm not," Christina says sharply.

The chief studies her for a long moment, then sighs. "Then this is about Grey, now."

Christina neither confirms nor denies, and Webber senses an opening.

"What is this really about?" he asks, leaning his elbows against his desk. "No one so far has been willing to give an actual reason I shouldn't hire Lillian."

Christina hesitates. "It's not for me to tell, sir." When Webber continues to pin her with a hard stare, she relents.

"Knowing what you knew about Ellis Grey, would you have offered her a job at the same hospital as Meredith?"

Webber's glare deepens. "Lillian Luthor does not have Alzheimers."

"I'm not talking about the Alzheimers, sir."

A punctuated and heavy silence fills the room, prompting Christina to escape as quickly as possible.

"I have a surgery to get to. Sir," she tacks on, hastily, before turning on her heel and disappearing out the door.

---

The next day, the chief's door opens again, this time admitting Lillian Luthor herself. Chief Webber turns from where he'd been staring out his window over the lobby below, and faces his prospective hire with a solemn expression.

"You run a good ship here, Richard," Lillian delivers pleasantly. "I admittedly had some concerns, giving Seattle Grace's recent dip in the rankings. But it seems they were unfounded; I'm actually rather impressed."

"I'm sorry, Lillian," Webber says solemnly. "I'm afraid I have to rescind my offer to have you join us."

Lillian stops, her smile freezing in place. "May I ask why?"

"I was ready to offer you any amount of money to convince you this was the right place for you," Webber continues. "Any equipment, grant funding, whatever it took."

"And yet."

"What I cannot do is replace an entire surgical resident class. Nor an intern who I'm sure you would agree shows great promise."

At that, Lillian's brow creases in consternation. "Excuse me?"

"How you and your daughter relate outside of this hospital is none of my concern. But this is a teaching hospital, Lillian, which means that we need students to teach."

Lillian levels an even gaze towards him. "I see."

"So as much as I would love to have you on this team," Webber, clearly having prepared an entire speech, continues, "if doing so comes at the cost of Seattle Grace's next generation of surgeons, I will have failed not only as Chief of Surgery, but as a teacher, and a mentor.

"It is my job to look to the future, Lillian. And we aren't the future anymore-- they are."

After a long, long moment, Lillian finally smirks.

"You always were a romantic, Richard."

"Hah!" Webber laughs. "I suppose so."

"Well, as disappointed as I may be, I won't fault your judgement. Not when that judgement accepted my daughter into your program."

Webber shakes his head. "Lena wasn't accepted into the program as your daughter, Lillian. She's a gifted doctor in her own right, and I'm certain she'll make an outstanding surgeon."

"Then I'm sure you'll shred her resignation letter?"

"If she's willing to return," Webber allows.

Lillian nods, content. She adjusts the strap of her bag, ready to leave.

"Keep doing what you're doing, Richard," she says. "You're doing an excellent job."

And then she leaves, as poised and elegant as she arrived.

----

Lillian doesn't return to her hotel. Instead, she heads to Lena's apartment. Lena answers her knock with a smile on her face, which disappears abruptly at the sight of her unexpected visitor.

"Mother."

They stare at each other for a long moment, until Lillian glances around her. "I'm more than happy to talk here in the corridor, however..."

She knows Lena wouldn't be. Lena has always been quiet, too reserved for a public spectacle-- which Lillian may or may not have attempted to exploit in her own favor at the hospital.

Lena steps aside, and Lillian enters the apartment with an appraising eye. The place is tidy and clean, though lived in, evidenced by the coffee mug forgotten on a side table and a book half buried under a rumpled blanket on the couch.

Lillian drifts to a stop at the threshold of the kitchen area, turning back to face her daughter where she hovered just inside the front door, now closed. Devoid of any medical charts to hide behind, Lena hugs herself, her gaze askance, refusing to meet Lillian's.

Faced with her daughter's clear discomfort, Lillian realizes with a pang that somewhere along the line, she has made a grave mistake.

"Why are you here?" Lena asks in a low, tense voice.

Lillian takes a breath, softening the set of her shoulders.

"I came to Seattle for you, Lena," she says gently. "I realize I haven't been as diligent in checking in with you as I should have been--"

"So you ambushed me at my place of work?!?" Lena snaps, her uneasiness snapping to anger in an instant.

Lillian almost flinches under the sudden heat of it. "Lena..."

"God! Where do you get off?? You ignore me, for *years*, and then expect us to be *coworkers*?!"

"How else was I supposed to connect with you, Lena?"

"My phone number hasn't changed, Mother," Lena hisses scathingly. "You could have tried picking up the fucking phone!"

"Would you have answered?"

Lena stops short, her cheeks reddening. Her jaw tightens stubbornly, but the way she looks away tells Lillian her concern wasn't entirely without merit.

"I know I haven't been the most attentive mother to you, Lena. What, with your brother's condition, and your father..."

Lena visibly stiffens, and Lillian swiftly steers away from the topic.

"Your brother needed me more than you did, sweetheart," Lillian tries again. "You know that."

Lillian sees the flicker of an eyeroll, before Lena closes her eyes in frustration.

"But I see now that our relationship has suffered for it. And now that your brother is doing well, I want to fix that."

Lena's eyes open, giving Lillian a suspicious glance.

"I want to fix us," Lillian repeats, more fervently. "Please, let me try."

As she watches, Lena's lips pull into a frown, shaking her head doubtfully. Still, Lillian persists.

"I declined Richard's offer."

At that, Lena blinks in surprise. "What?"

"It was not my intention to disrupt your life, Lena. Seattle Grace is the right place for you; I won't take that away."

Lena peers at her, plainly suspicious.

"But I'm not ready to give up on this chance to reconnect," Lillian clarifies. "Mercy West is also looking for a cardio-thoracic surgeon, and I intend to accept their offer."

Still, Lena says nothing.

"I won't force you into spending time with me, sweetheart. But I intend to stay, in event that you may be willing to."

When the silence stretches on, Lillian accepts that she won't recieve an answer tonight. That's all right: she's accomplished what she's come here to do.

"I'll let you get back to your evening," she offers gently. Still, she takes out the business card she'd tucked into her pocket earlier, and leaves it facedown on the counter, leaving the handwritten phone number clearly visible.

"My cell," she explains simply. "For whenever you're ready."

With that, she moves towards the door, pausing only long enough to give Lena's arm a small rub as she passes. She closes the door behind her, and takes a deep breath before continuing towards the elevator.

When the doors open, a familiar woman steps out with a pizza box in one hand and two-liter of soda in the other. One of the Grey sisters, Lillian recalls.

The younger woman only pauses long enough to deliver a curt "Dr. Luthor" before moving past Lillian. It's Lillian who turns and calls softly after her.

"You and my daughter," she begins, causing Grey to slow, then turn back. "You're close."

The younger woman says nothing, keeping the truth guarded close to her chest. Lillian nods.

"I'm glad," she says. "Lena deserves good friends."

"Yeah," comes the reply. "She does."

Clearly, this woman was one of the many who apparently had little respect for Lillian. Rather than invite any further condemnation, Lillian gives a nod of farewell, then turns back to the elevator.

"I overheard your son was feeling better," Grey calls. Lillian pauses. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but how long has it been since his last hospitalization?"

Lillian frowns at that. Even so, she reaches back into her memory, if only to appease a woman her daughter clearly feels deeply for.

"Almost six years ago."

Grey's head tilts thoughtfully. "That would be... around the time of Lena's first year of med school. Which was about the last time you heard from her, wasn't it."

It's less a question, and more a statement. The younger woman holds Lillian's gaze, undaunted.

"Odd, don't you think?"

Lillian's gaze narrows, but before she can respond, the moment ends.

"Have a good night, ma'am."

Grey continues her way down towards Lena's door, leaving Lillian to step into the elevator, uncharacteristically off-kilter. But by the time the elevator deposits her on the ground floor, Lillian puts the exchange from her mind.

After all, what would a stranger know about it?

#greys anatomy au #lexie x lena #lillian at seattle grace #could it be??#lillian wanting to be a decent mom??

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