#I mean we all know Greys and Shepherds work together well as romantic pairings

[sbd-laytall]

Okay, I just gotta say that after watching 8x15, I'm feeling some fruity vibes between Amelia and Lexie. Is it just me, or do other people also really like the idea of them as a couple?

[crazy-dog-lady-81]

No-one Trash Talks Bartley’s Girl

Kai? Kai Bartley? Is that you?”

Kai turned towards the woman who had spoken and found themself looking at a very familiar face. It took them a second to recognise their college roommate. “Oh my God. Karen! How are you? It’s great to see you. It must be, what, like five years since we last met?”

The tall neuroscientist extended their arms, inviting her former roomie in for a hug. The embrace was warm and friendly. Stepping back from it, they took a few seconds to take each other in.

“Do you have to be somewhere, or do you have time to grab a coffee? I’d love to catch up properly”, Kai asked.

Checking her watch, Karen replied that she had some time. Inviting Kai to lead the way, the pair walked down the street to a sweet little café that Kai had been to with Amelia a few times. Remembering it had always been Karen’s favourite drink in college, Kai recommended the café to her by telling Karen that it did a good cappuccino.

“Wow! I can’t believe that you remembered my order!”

When they reached the café, Kai pushed open its door and allowed Karen to step in before following her. They ordered coffees at the counter and found a table towards the back of the building. The conversation turned towards work, each eager to know what the other had been up to. Kai told Karen briefly about their work on the Parkinson’s Project.

“I’m impressed. You were always brilliant Kai, destined to do truly remarkable things. Curing Parkinson’s? I wouldn’t be surprised if you were a part of the team that manages to do it”.

Ever modest, Kai blushed and looked down as the compliment washed over them. “Thank you”, they murmured softly. “So, what about you?”

Karen was also a neuroscientist. She was currently working with a large pharmaceutical company, part of a team that was developing a new drug for epilepsy.

“That’s sounds exciting. Since the problems around the use of sodium valproate in pregnancy became known, I guess it has become essential that the industry try to develop new and safer treatments”, Kai suggested.

Karen agreed. “Yeah, for sure. The drug is showing promise in animal trails but it’s still a long way from being ready for human testing.”

The waitress brought their coffees then and the interruption brought with it a change in the direction of the conversation.

“Are you and Steven still together?” Kai enquired.

“Yes, although I am still waiting for a ring. It’s been seven years! Seven years! Ah, I don’t know. Men, eh? Hope you are having better luck with Lucy.”

Kai jumped at little at the mention of their ex-girlfriend’s name. They hadn’t seen her in three and a half years, when she had broken Kai’s heart. While they had loved Lucy and had seen a future with her, Lucy had seen Kai as a sexual partner only. She had never cared for Kai romantically. Hoping that they could make Lucy love them, Kai had held on until one day they realised that they couldn’t lie to themself any longer. So, they had packed their belongings into their car and left. They hadn’t had another relationship until Amelia had walked into the lab and stolen their heart.

“Actually, I am in a new relationship. My partner Amelia is a neurosurgeon at Grey-Sloan here in Seattle. I met her through the project. We’ve been together for a year now. She’s amazing. You’d like her.”

“Wait. Do you mean Amelia Shepherd?”

“Yeah. Do you know her?”

“She’s legendary, but I wouldn’t have thought that she’d be your type. I mean, she has a reputation.”

Kai frowned. “Really? How so?”

“Well, far be it from me to gossip but I have heard that she had problems with drink and drugs. Also, that she goes through men like they’re going out of fashion. Generally, just not the sort of woman that you might want to bring home.”

Kai puffed out their cheeks and exhaled sharply. Their hands were clenched into tight, angry fists.

“You don’t know Amelia. Not at all.” Kai spoke quietly and deliberately, taking care with the selection of their words.

“She’s funny. Really witty and funny. She’s brilliant. Watching her work, how precise and delicate her touch is. It’s a thing of beauty. She’s feisty and passionate. She’ll speak her mind and not be told not to. She’s got the bluest eyes. I get lost in them every time I look into them. Her smile is contagious. She loves her people so hard. It’s infuriating but also inspiring. She’s wild and turbulent yet deep and tender. She’s so beautiful that she takes my breath away. I pinch myself all the time to make sure that I haven’t just dreamt her up.”

Karen’s face fell and she tried to stammer out an apology. “I didn’t mean to cause you any offence.”

“I am sure you didn’t, but you have. I don’t appreciate you trash taking my partner when you haven’t even met her. That will always be offensive to me.”

With that, Kai stood up, grabbed their coat, and walked out leaving a stunned Karen behind them.

Kai went straight to the hospital and found Amelia. The brunette was taken by surprise as Kai walked purposely up to her and swept her into their arms. The hospital corridor was relatively quiet but there were a few staff and family members about. It was out of character for Kai to be this demonstratively affectionate in view of others.

“Kai Bartley. There are people watching!” Amelia tried to sound stern, but she was given away by the glowing smile on her face.

“Let them look. I don’t care what anyone thinks because I love you Amelia Frances Shepherd. I don’t care about anything that has happened in your life before now. It doesn’t matter. I love you for who you are now, and I always will.”

They kissed her with a passion that took her breath away. She felt her knees go weak and her heart pounded in her chest. She kissed them back and felt them pour their soul into the kiss. When their lips parted, she rested her head against their chest and held on to them.

“That is probably the most romantic thing that anyone has ever done for me. You literally just swept me off my feet. There’s no way that you are ever getting rid of me now.”

Kai rested their forehead on the crown of her head and laughed into her soft brown hair. “That’s good. I mean what kind of weirdo would I look right now if you didn’t love me?”

Amelia chuckled and pulled away to look up into their green eyes. “I will be done here in about half an hour.”

“Okay. I will meet you in the lobby so I can take you home to bed.”

Amelia smirked and stole one more kiss before Kai let her go reluctantly.

The Karen’s of this world might never understand why Kai loved Amelia. They’d always be quick to judge but they’d always be wrong because she was perfectly imperfect, and Kai would never let her go.

[thejolexgroupchat]

the one where they met in med school - part twelve

silk red boxer briefs and broken bones

Hi everyone!! Hope you enjoy this next part. This one was so much fun to write for obvious reasons. Let us know what you think and what you’d like to see next.

If you haven’t read parts 1-11, go check out our Master List :)

Happy Reading! - @iamtrebleclefstories​ @doc-pickles​ and Nat!

———

(February 2006)

Alex felt stupid. Like, if this didn’t go well, he wouldn’t hear the end of it for years. He wasn’t even sure if Jo would like it. If she wanted this. She never said anything about Valentine’s Day, but he assumed it was because back in October she mentioned something about how she’d never celebrated it before. Jo didn’t exactly know what to expect when it came to holidays in general, let alone a holiday that was dedicated to love. 

It still kind of blew his mind that he was the first person to ever truly tell Jo he loved her. He was the first person to show her that she was worthy of someone’s care and admiration. There was just so much to love, he didn’t understand how anyone could’ve ever met her and thought otherwise. 

So that’s why he found himself doing this incredibly stupid, cheesy thing, because Jo had never had someone make a fool of themselves to show her that she was worth it. He’d written her a card with some of the most romantic and sickeningly sweet things he’d ever said. He bought champagne, lit some candles and littered the bed with dozens of rose petals. He even bought a pair of ridiculous red, silk, boxer briefs that he’d be wearing when she got home after a long day of classes.

He’d just finished the last couple touches when he heard the front door open and Jo’s light footsteps make their way across the small apartment. Alex took a deep breath as he watched the doorknob of the bedroom turn.

“Alex?” Jo stopped in shock staring at the sight before her. “What is going on?”

“Happy Valentine’s Day?” Alex smiled awkwardly and pointed around the room. “You said you’ve never celebrated Valentine’s Day and neither have I, so I thought I’d put together something nice. But now that you’re staring at me like that, I’m thinking maybe I shouldn’t have.”

Jo stood slack-jawed as her eyes scanned the room, noticing the rose petals, the candles, the champagne, a letter with her name on it, and Alex standing in a pair of red, silk boxer briefs, looking back at her with flushed cheeks. She let out the tiniest laugh, “Oh my God.”

“And now you’re laughing at me. Great,” Alex grumbled, face turning hot with embarrassment. “I knew I shouldn’t have done this.”

“I’m not laughing at you,” Jo grinned, eyes shining. “I’m laughing because I’m in shock and I can’t believe you’d do this for me. You aren’t exactly the most romantic guy.”

“I know,” Alex sighed. “I know I’m not the most romantic guy and this is probably really weird for you, but you deserve this. You deserve all of this and more. So yeah, I bought champagne and put flowers on the bed, I wrote you a love letter and I’m standing here in these… really tight red shorts because you’re worth it. And if I have to make a fool out of myself to show you that, then I’ll do it.” 

Jo’s face softened and she grabbed Alex’s face in her hands, “I love you. And I love that you care so much. But really, Alex you know me. You didn’t have to do all of this. Valentine’s Day is special and has been special for the past two years because I’ve gotten to spend it with you.” She lifted her hands off his face and ran them along the waistband of his red boxer briefs, looking at him suggestively. “Besides, I am a simple girl.” 

“Really now?” Alex raised his eyebrows and allowed a sly grin to make its way onto his face. “So… what do you say we forget all the fancy stuff and just have sex?”

“Hold it right there, mister,” Jo placed her hand on his chest and pushed lightly. “At least pop the champagne first.”

“Yes ma’am.” 

———

(January 2008) 

“Hey! I haven’t seen you around in awhile,” Jo stood next to Lexie at the nurses station, bumping her friends shoulder as she looked her over. “You haven’t been avoiding me have you?”

Lexie’s eyes widened as she turned to Jo, a blush spreading across her cheeks, “No! I’ve just been busy, I’ve been on Sloan’s service so you know how that is.”

“Oh he still finds time to operate in between screwing every nurse in the hospital? Interesting,” Jo chuckled as she pulled the chart she’d come over to grab, noticing Lexie’s lack of response to her joke. “What? Don’t tell me you actually like the guy. He’s a major douche and that’s coming from someone who’s dating Alex.”

“Hey! Watch it,” Alex walked up to the duo, pressing a kiss to Jo’s cheek as he took the chart in her hands. “What’re you talking about? Sloan sleeping with all the nurses?”

“Why are we still talking about Sloan’s sex life?! Why can’t we just drop it,” Lexie’s voice was shrill and loud as Jo and Alex stared at her in confusion. “I have things to do, I have to go!”

Jo watched as Lexie stormed off, head tilting to the side as she tried to decipher her friend's mood. Alex shrugged, turning his attention to the chart in his hand, “Must be PMSing or something.”

“Alex! Come on,” Jo smacked Alex’s shoulder and stared at him incredulously. “Somethings up with Lexie, I don’t know what it is but I’m going to find out.”

Alex rolled his eyes, pressing a kiss to Jo’s forehead before walking away, “Let me know what you figure out Sherlock!”

__

Jo couldn’t put her finger on what exactly was up with Lexie. She was for sure avoiding Jo now, turning the other way if she saw her in the cafeteria or in the hallways. And the other interns said she’d been leaving as soon as her shift was done, barely saying goodbye to them before jetting out the door. 

After knowing each other for almost five years, Jo and Lexie kept very few secrets from each other. The situation at hand however made Jo nervous, worried that maybe she’d done something to upset Lexie. Lost in her thoughts, she almost missed the frantic voice of her best friend as she rounded a corner towards the surgical floor. 

“Jo! I need your help,” Jo turned towards Lexie’s voice, finding the brunette leaning out of an on call room with a nervous look. “I messed up, oh I’m so screwed. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything earlier but-“

“I said Torres not an intern,” the voice booming inside the on call room made Jo’s eyebrows sky rocket into her hairline as she met Lexie’s eyes. “Come on Little Grey, I’m dying here.”

Jo tried to peek around Lexie, but the other girl kept herself firmly positioned in the doorway, “Oh my god, are you sleeping with Sloan?!”

“Yes and I think I broke his… you know…,” Jo pressed a hand to her mouth as she realized exactly what Lexie was saying. “Do not laugh! This is not a laughing matter! I need you to get Torres, please?”

“Okay okay, but you owe me so big,” Jo walked away, giggles escaping her as she began her hunt for Torres. “Oh man I’m never letting her live this down.”

Jo continued down the hallways in search of Doctor Torres, frustrated that she was seemingly nowhere to be found. She really did want to help Lexie out, but she had her own work to deal with.

“What’s got you all hot and bothered, Princess,” Jo visibly relaxed as Alex came into her view. “You need me to drag you into an on call room for some stress relief?”

A chuckle left Jo as she shook her head, “No I’m looking for Torres actually. You will not believe what I just witnessed.”

“Torres and I just finished a consult actually,” Alex motioned to the orthopedic surgeon who sauntered up to the duo.

Callie eyed Jo suspiciously as the younger woman wrung her hands. Before she could ask what was happening, Jo blurted out her dilemma, “I found Lexie in an on call room and I’m pretty sure she broke Mark Sloan’s penis.”

Alex and Callie stared at Jo in shock, both too stunned to answer as they took in what she’d just said. A moment passed before Alex broke out into loud laughter, followed shortly by Callie who was struggling to fight off tears as she bellowed with laughter. 

“That’s a good one Wilson,” Callie clapped Jo’s shoulder as she wiped at her cheeks. “Oh that’s a funny joke!”

Jo rolled her eyes, turning to Alex with a serious expression, “I’m not making this up! I’m pretty sure that’s why Lexie was acting weird the other day, because she’s been sleeping with Sloan. And now she’s gone and broken the man’s prized possession.”

“That’s her serious face,” Alex pointed out, his laughter dying down as he stared at Jo in disbelief. “Wait, Lex really broke Sloan’s penis?”

“Yes! Will you please go help them,” Jo pleaded to Callie. “I love Lexie but I don’t wanna think about her and Sloan getting it on. That’s too much, even for me.”

“Oh no Wilson, you’re not getting out of this that easy,” Callie shook her head in amusement. “I’ll give you two minutes while I go check on him and call Shepherd or Hunt, but you’re scrubbing in on that surgery.” 

Jo’s face dropped in horror as Callie walked away. Jo looked at Alex, “Oh God… I think I might be traumatized after this.” 

“I’m never gonna let Lexie live this down,” Alex laughed again. “She always gave us so much shit about our sex lives. She will never hear the end of it from me.” 

“I just don’t understand,” Jo shook her head in confusion. “Why Sloan? He’s like… sixteen years older than her.” 

“People want who they want,” Alex shrugged. 

“No you don’t get it. Lexie has only slept with like six people in her entire life. She’s normally so selective with who she sleeps with. She doesn’t sleep with just anyone,” Jo turned to Alex with raised eyebrows. “That’s why I’m so surprised she ever slept with you.” 

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” Alex scrunched his face and pointed to himself. “I’m great in bed.” 

“Yeah but you’re you,” Jo patted his shoulder and walked away. Leaving Alex standing there in confusion. 

***

Jo had just scrubbed out of surgery when she found Lexie waiting outside for her, sheepish expression on her face, “Look… Jo—“

“How long?” Jo raised an eyebrow at her friend. “How long have you been sleeping with him?”

“Two and a half months,” Lexie mumbled quietly, avoiding eye contact with her friend.

“Two months! Geez, Lexie,” Jo shook her head. “Why didn’t you tell me? I tell you practically everything. Two and a half months? You found out about Alex and I days after we got together.”

“I know,” Lexie banged her head against the wall. “I—He’s my attending. And he’s notorious for screwing anything with a pulse. I just didn’t want anyone’s judgments or opinions. Especially because I was the one who initiated everything.”

“Lex, I’m not just anyone,” Jo leaned against the wall next to Lexie. “I am your best friend. I’m the person you’re supposed to talk to about this stuff. And I know I didn’t have a lot of experience in being someone’s person before meeting you, I do know that these are the kind of things that we should be talking about.”

“I know. And I’m sorry,” Lexie sighed. “It’s just… ever since my mom died last year, I can’t help but clam up when I should be talking to you about what I’m going through.”

“How about this, any time you share something with me, I share something with you. You told me about Sloan so now I’m going to tell you something,” Jo turned to face her friend. “Do you remember back in May when I was a wreck and Alex came to Boston to check on me?”

“Yeah,” Lexie nodded. “I was really worried. You wouldn’t talk or eat. All you did was cry.” 

“Well, I had a pregnancy scare back then.”

“You what?” Lexie’s eyes widened. 

“And I didn’t know how to deal with it so I just cried for three days before Alex showed up,” Jo looked over at Lexie and let out the smallest laugh. “He was so good about it, too. He held me and took me to buy the test and read the results. Then he told me that I wasn’t crazy for feeling a little disappointed that the test was negative. And… that was the first time he told me that he wants to marry me and have kids with me one day. When we’re ready.” 

“Jo that’s—wow,” Lexie reached over and squeezed her best friend’s hand. “We really got to do better at talking to each other.”

“Yeah we do,” Jo agreed. 

“I can’t believe you thought you were pregnant and didn’t tell me,” Lexie narrowed her eyes at Jo.

“I can’t believe that you started sleeping with Sloan and didn’t tell me,” Jo countered.

“That’s fair,” Lexie’s face broke out into a grin. “Next time you think you’re pregnant, you better tell me.”

“Who says there’s gonna be a next time?” Jo wrinkled her eyebrows.

“Please,” Lexie scoffed. “With the way you and Alex go at it, I’m surprised that you’ve only had one scare.”

“Oh shush,” Jo shoved Lexie slightly. “Watch out, before you have a scare.”

“Please, my IUD is a faithful friend and she wouldn’t let me down,” Lexie grinned. 

“I really hate you sometimes.”

[calzona-ga]

Meredith Grey might just be heading to jail, but she's also in love and finally not afraid to say it, so at least we've got a bright side to look on.

In the season 15 finale of Grey's Anatomy, Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) wrestled with the fact that her boyfriend Andrew DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti) had decided to take the fall for her well-intentioned insurance fraud and had been carted off to jail, and after trying the Spartacus trick with Richard and Alex—only to get all three of them fired—she made a huge decision.

She visited DeLuca in jail, and through the glass, said three little words she hasn't said to anyone since (or aside from) Derek Shepherd: "I love you." And she also said a few other words about how she's turning herself in, going to jail herself, and hoping to plead her case with an understanding judge.

In other words, Meredith Grey is about to finally face some consequences for her impulsive actions. And it's kind of about time.

"We were really excited by exactly that in the writers' room," showrunner and executive producer Krista Vernoff told E! News. "Ellen and I were laughing on set. She was like, ‘what do you mean this is my first offense? I break rules all the time!' And I was like yeah, but you've never been busted. It's your first offense."

Meredith does love to break the rules, always in the name of saving or helping and without much thought for what it might do to her—she's the queen of self-sabotage, remember.This time isn't much different, other than the fact that insurance fraud is a really, really big deal, and a really bad way to solve a terrible problem.

For those of us who have been wondering why on earth Meredith's first instinct was to write down her own daughter's name to help out a patient when she's got so much of her own money and a whole money-filled foundation within arm's reach, Vernoff says Meredith's decision wasn't one made out of logic.  

"To me, she was looking at a system that is broken, and a system that is asking [this father] to quit his job if he wants to be able to afford the surgery for his daughter, but quitting a job will basically get him deported. Quitting his job will mean he can't provide for his family. His wife is being held…the systems are so broken and it enraged her. And when you make a decision from a place of rage, it's rarely a well-thought-out decision."

Plus, that girl's going to need a lot more surgeries than Meredith herself could pay for, at least not without that father feeling extremely indebted to one particularly kind doctor.

Whatever reason she did it, it's done, and Meredith's legal troubles are only just beginning.

Vernoff says they purposely "really laid the groundwork" for viewers to think that this would turn out like every other time Meredith has done something very stupid in the name of saving a life, and that it would be a one-off episode, or a mistake that would eventually cease to matter, like that time she screwed with the Alzheimer's trial. This time, it's very much not.

"We had her smuggle Megan Hunt's kid into the country, basically illegally, and we never came back and talked about it. It just was done. So we've seen her break a lot of rules and not have consequences, so we were like, everybody will think this story is over when she does this thing. They'll think it's a one-off story because we've done that several times before, and it will shock the hell out of the audience when very real consequences and ramifications come down because of it," Vernoff says. "And very real consequences and ramifications have come down, and they will be played through the next season."

That means that yes, this firing is real, and yes, this potential jail time is very real.

"You're not going to come back in the fall and find all the fired doctors working at the hospital, and everything's handled. That's not what's happening," Vernoff promises. "I don't know what's happening, but I know when we get into the writers' room in June, we are going to follow through on that story."

It's obviously hard to take your main character, your title character, and threaten to send her to jail, because we're all going to immediately assume that Meredith Grey will be just fine. That's especially the case with two more seasons ordered and no real talk of the end of the show, but it's also a prospect that has the writers' room excited heading into season 16.

"I mean, it's a bold stroke," Vernoff admitted. "We were pretty excited. We were pretty excited when we figured out that that's what we were going to do. It really felt like look, we've been making this show for 15 seasons. It's almost 350 episodes, and what do you do that you haven't done before? How do you keep it fresh? How do you keep it new? How do you keep the audience from getting ahead of you, and this felt like an answer to that."

The other new territory Meredith is exploring is a new and very serious relationship with DeLuca, which is now inextricably tied with her crime. He watched Mer write down her daughter's name in place of a sick little girl's name to save a stranger's life, and that only confirmed how in love he was. He said "I love you," and Meredith couldn't yet say it back, but he was still immediately ready to sacrifice his career to take the fall for her.

Meredith later revealed she was only unable to say it back because it scared her to say it after the last person she said it to was Derek, and then the next thing she knew, she was stuck in a hyperbaric chamber and DeLuca was handcuffed and on his way to jail, for her.

As new as these legal consequences are for Meredith, season 15's love story has been equally as new and a whole lot of fun.

Ever since Derek died in season 11, Meredith had kind of taken a step back from her own love life. She tried a little bit of reluctant dating, but one night resulted in her screaming at a guy to leave in the morning, and her fling with Nathan Riggs (Martin Henderson) was discarded (by Meredith) the moment his presumed-dead fiancée returned.

The Riggs storyline, as Ellen Pompeo described it in her iconic 2018 THR essay, was a result of ABC racing to "get a penis in there," and when the network didn't love the storyline, it ended.

Then Vernoff, who had left the show after season seven, returned, and the show gave Meredith some space to get some s—t done.

In season 14, Meredith finally achieved her lifelong goal of winning a Harper Avery (as complicated as that award would become), and cemented Meredith Grey as the sought-after surgeon her mother raised her to be, and that she and Cristina Yang had always dreamed of being.

"When I came back to the show in season 14, Ellen wanted to make sure I wasn't just coming in to pair her up with another guy," Vernoff explains. "She was a little tired of playing romance. She'd been doing it for a lot of seasons, and I said, great, let's not."

Pompeo, in fact, had a request.

"She said, ‘I want to be like a medical superhero,' and I said, ‘Done.' And that's what we did for that season," Vernoff says. "It was great, and we loved it, and I think that I earned her trust and we became creative partners, and then it was like, OK, are we ready? Can we dip our toes back in?"

As Vernoff reminds us, at the end of the day, the show is about the romance, and season 15 was even dubbed by the writers the "season of love," a season full of "fun and joy and light."    

"It's a romantic…medical romantic…it's a romantic dramedy with a little bit of medicine thrown in," she says. "It's not a medical procedural, right? So romance is a key ingredient, and Ellen was super game coming into this season. She really enjoyed everything she got to play last year, and then this year, she was ready to play with this."

This, specifically, began as a drunken kiss, crept into Meredith's very sexy dream sequences, briefly entertained itself as a love triangle, and then slowly blossomed into one of our favorite Grey's Anatomy ships maybe ever. (Yes, we said it. Ever.)

"I feel like we slow-rolled that. We started it as an unexpected fantasy, born of an uninvited kiss or a complicated accidental kiss at the wedding, and then it evolved, using [matchmaker] Cece, and Link as a little bit of a temptation triangle, and then that became DeLuca about halfway through the season, and we just eased our way into it."

That, Vernoff says, was all in service of making Meredith's big "I love you feel" feel earned. And if that tear that rolled down our face when we watched it was any indication, it definitely did.

"That is a collaboration," she explains. "That is us writing a thing and then Ellen playing the hell out of it, so that by the time we got that "I love you," it felt true, and it felt earned, and it felt exciting and it felt unfinished because it's behind glass and because it took her so long to say it back to him, and because she has verbalized how scary it is for her because the last person she said it to was Derek. It gives us places to go next season that are interesting and complicated."

A season and a half ago, you might never look at Andrew DeLuca and think he'd be the perfect man for Meredith Grey. He was sleeping on couches and crying over his ex-girlfriend, Sam Bello (Jeanine Mason) moving to Switzerland to escape deportation. He was the guy who Zola remembers as a sort of vagrant with a guitar.

He's also a fair amount younger than Meredith, and he's a resident where she's a highly accomplished attending, the chief of general surgery. That's obviously not a new pairing on this show which began with an intern falling in love with the chief of neurosurgery, but still, no one was putting the two together just yet.

Then DeLuca kissed Meredith at Alex and Jo's wedding, and then Meredith was having dreams, and suddenly we were all dreaming of Giacomo Gianniotti speaking Italian to us in an elevator, and of Ellen Pompeo speaking it right back.  

The age and power dynamic difference in this relationship and Meredith and Derek's tumultuous romance is not exactly the same, but there's a certain sense that this relationship is able to run because Derek and Meredith once walked.

"We weren't designing it to do the opposite, but certainly that dynamic gave us permission to do this one. It felt like, OK, we told that story, and now is it OK for Meredith to be dating a resident? Is it OK for this age gap or difference in life experience to exist, and the answer is yes, because we saw it really successfully early in the series with Derek and Meredith," Vernoff says. "He was older, he was more experienced in life, so we just wanted to see Meredith happy again, and we wanted her to fall in love in an unexpected way, and we liked the chemistry between her and Giacomo."

Some fans were unsure of what to think of the relationship because of our long road with DeLuca so far, and some worried or thought that it might just be a fling, like all of Meredith's other attempts at romance post-Derek. In the writers' room, MerLuca was always the real deal.  

"We never thought it was a fling," Vernoff says. "I think if you added 10 years to DeLuca, you wouldn't have thought it was a fling. You would have thought this was a guy that she likes, and who's sticking when the other ones are not. But because there's a little bit of an age difference between them…not a huge age difference, but just enough that you don't usually see it on television…It's our societal sort of unconscious bias that I think made people dismiss it initially because we have decided somehow culturally that women who are older than men, that that's somehow an invalid pairing."

With Derek's death, it's kind of like Meredith got even older than she actually is. She closed herself off for a while, and saw herself as finished, her sex life closed down, which she even said out loud a couple of times. But watching the series all the way through again (highly recommend) shows that Derek was really only one part of Meredith's story. The years since have felt like a new story, one filled with a joy that the show had never had before, with a Meredith who no longer feels like everything in her life is doomed, because the worst has kind of already happened and yet she has survived.

Since Derek's death, Mer has gained two sisters who have become her best friends, roommates, and basically her co-parents. She's gotten everything she ever wanted, and is now seeing that there's more out there that she didn't even know she wanted. It's like she gained back those years she lost when Derek died.

She hired a matchmaker. She started dating a resident 10 years younger than her. She flitted around a work party trying to act "normal" after her surrogate father caught her making out with her boyfriend. She's committing crimes out of the goodness of her heart, she's saying "I love you" to a man in jail, and she's smiling more than she's maybe ever smiled before.

"When Ellen Pompeo smiles, we smile," Vernoff explains. "I feel like that's the world of Grey's Anatomy. It's like, when Meredith is happy, it comes through, and we feel happy."

And doesn't Meredith (along with the rest of us) deserve that happiness?

"She went through such a journey of grief with Derek and rebounds and sort of almost recoveries, and you know, one step forward, two steps back, and to watch her light up in this way for the first time…I don't think we've seen her light up this way since Derek. And that's been really wonderful."

Meredith's future may now be a huge question mark filled with court dates and time behind bars and a job she's been fired from, but it's also a bright future that includes a supportive boyfriend, a found family that will fight like hell for her, and at least two more seasons on our screens.

So all told, things are looking pretty good for Meredith Grey.

[latetothegreysparty]

Mistletoe Moments

Okay, so I meant to write one of the several fics that I had been planning lately, but then I randomly decided to just do a silly little Christmas one instead. Here’s my contribution to the season of fluffy Christmas fics. It takes place during Christmas of season 14.

Mistletoe Moments

“Did all the wreaths get hung up?” asked Maggie Pierce as she stepped into the living room in Meredith’s house. “Those were the last decorations we needed to hang.”

“Yes, Maggie,” Meredith said with a roll of her eyes. “The wreaths have been hung up as well as the lights, the stockings, and all of the crap for the trees. I think this house has enough Christmas spirit to cover the entire city of Seattle.”

Meredith and Maggie were putting the finishing touches on the decorations and food for the annual Grey-Sloan family Christmas party. A few years ago, they had started hosting a party whenever everybody (or nearly everybody, as it often worked out) wasn’t working so that the whole staff could get their families together for some Christmas treats and fun. Meredith had offered to host in her house this year. Maggie and Amelia were currently living with her, so she figured this year was the perfect year to host since she’d have some help putting it together.

“Actually, we’re missing one decoration,” said Maggie as she finished setting beverages on a table by the tree. “We still need the mistletoe. I can’t believe I almost forgot! That’s the most important decoration in this whole house!”

Meredith merely chuckled as she turned to look around the living room for the aforementioned mistletoe. One of everyone’s favorite traditions at the Grey-Sloan Christmas party was the mistletoe. There was always mistletoe hung somewhere in the party, and everyone always made a game out of pushing random pairs of people beneath the hanging decoration in order to encourage some playful affection. Last year’s most memorable moment had occurred when Arizona and Amelia had been pushed beneath the mistletoe, and Amelia shocked everyone by kissing Arizona square on the lips. Everyone had laughed, except for Owen who stood in the corner stewing with jealousy as he watched his then-wife kiss someone else on the lips. Everyone else had pretended not to notice when Owen and Amelia had gone missing for the next half hour.

Meredith soon found the mistletoe and hung it up on the wall near the table of drinks. “Where’s Amelia?” she called while she finished hanging the mistletoe. “Is she doing her usual thing where she promises to help us prepare for a social function and then bails?”

“Meredith, come on, be nice,” Maggie said, ever the peacemaker. “I sent her out to pick up the food. She should be back any minute now.”

Right on cue, Amelia walked through the front door carrying several boxes of food. The three sisters then set about laying food out and putting the finishing touches on everything before going upstairs to grab Zola, Bailey, and Ellis from their bedrooms to bring them down to the party. They were just coming down the stairs when Arizona and Sofia arrived at the front door.

-

About an hour into the party, while Amelia was grabbing her third cookie of the night, she felt herself being shoved from the side and stumbled a few steps. She looked up and noticed that she was now standing beneath the mistletoe. “Alright, who’s the lucky person?” Amelia asked as she turned to see who would be joining her. She beamed as she saw none other than Bailey Shepherd standing next to her underneath the mistletoe. “Uh oh, Bailey, do you know what this means?” she asked, pointing up to the greenery above their heads.

“Uh uh,” he replied, eyes wide and lips pouting.

“It means you owe me a kiss, mister,” Amelia smirked as she bent down to Bailey’s level.

“Oh, that’s easy!” he said with a grin as he grabbed his aunt’s cheeks and pressed a sloppy kiss to her nose.

“My turn!” Amelia exclaimed before enveloping Bailey in her arms, kissing first his forehead and then adding a kiss to each cheek.

“Hey, that was three, not one!” Bailey said, head tilting sideways and eyebrows furrowing.

“I know, I just couldn’t help myself because I love you so much,” Amelia responded before flicking his nose.

As Amelia stepped out from under the mistletoe, she made eye contact with Maggie just as Maggie went to push Meredith under the mistletoe. Meredith turned to see who she’d been paired with. She smiled as she realized it was Alex Karev. Alex grinned as he leaned in to kiss Meredith’s forehead, ending the affectionate gesture with a ruffle to Meredith’s hair. Meredith decided to get a bit more creative and grabbed Alex’s hand so that she could kiss the back of it.

As the two stepped out from under the mistletoe, Meredith turned to see Jo Wilson smiling back at them. Meredith was glad to see that Jo seemed to now be comfortable with the relationship Meredith and Alex shared. After their awkward stretch in which Meredith always seemed to interrupt Alex and Jo in the worst possible moments, she was glad that things were going more smoothly.

As Meredith stepped around Jo, Alex smirked and grabbed Jo’s hand, pulling her under the mistletoe. Jo squealed before giggling and grabbing Alex’s cheeks and initiating a kiss that was decidedly less chaste than any of the previous ones that had taken place.

As wolf whistles filled the room, Amelia chuckled before calling out, “Alright, I think that’s my cue to start putting the little ones to bed.” Amelia rounded up the three Shepherd children and Sofia, who would be staying the night with Zola in her bedroom.

62 minutes, 6 bedtime stories, and countless goodnight kisses later, Amelia finally came back down the steps to find that everyone seemed decidedly tipsier than they had been before she put the kids to bed. She wandered over to the food table where she found Arizona and April giggling and discussing Arizona’s latest hookup.

“She took my bra off right as Andrew came through the front door. That’s like the third time this month!” Arizona exclaimed with a giggle. Yep, Arizona was definitely drunk.

“That’s okay, there was one time several months ago when I forgot that Jackson was bringing Harriet over and he walked in on me making out with my date on the kitchen counter.” Apparently, April was drunk too.

As Amelia turned away from the conversation to grab another bottle of water off the table, she felt an arm hook around her waist and throw her in the direction of the mistletoe. Amelia’s first move was to look and see which tipsy party attendee had thrown her under the mistletoe. April. Of course. All of this tipsy talk about entertaining romantic gaffes had probably encouraged April to take a turn at the mistletoe game.

Amelia was about to turn to see who April had paired her up with, but she had her answer before she even turned around. “Really, Kepner?” asked an exasperated Owen. Amelia could feel herself starting to blush as she realized that the room had suddenly gone very quiet. Amelia took a deep breath before turning to face Owen.

“Hey,” she whispered with a shy smile. She didn’t know what the protocol was here. Were they supposed to kiss each other’s cheeks? Foreheads? Amelia had no idea. She began to ask Owen, “How do you want to-” but she was cut off by his hands confidently grabbing the sides of her head as he pressed his lips to hers. Amelia’s eyes went wide for half a second as she struggled to figure out how to respond, but that all went out the window as Owen tilted his head and angled his lips across hers.

No longer concerned about the propriety of kissing one’s ex-husband or all of the other people in the room staring at them, Amelia allowed her tongue to slide along Owen’s lips, gently teasing him just as she knew he liked. He responded by tangling his fingers in her hair and pushing his own tongue into her mouth, taking back control of the kiss. After several more seconds, Amelia finally drew her head back to look Owen in the eyes. His eyes were that dark shade of blue that she loved, he was panting heavily, and now they were both blushing, but for an entirely different reason than before.

“I think maybe we should go in the other room for a bit,” Owen whispered huskily as he traced a gentle hand down the side of Amelia’s face. Amelia nodded wordlessly in reply, taking his hand and turning to exit the room with him in search of a more private location in the house. Neither of them bothered to acknowledge the wolf whistling of their coworkers as they walked out of the room hand in hand.

[guhudude]

Tagged by: @omuii le geef

Rules: Answer these 92 statements and tag 20 people

LAST:  1. Drink: coke 
2. Phone call: probably my mom 
3. Text message: to my girlfriend: ^_^
 4. Song you listened to: Free -6LACK 
5. Time you cried: uhhhhhhhhhh I think it was two weeks ago when I was frustrated with my family for not treating me like an adult

 HAVE YOU: 
6. Dated someone twice: nooo
 7. Kissed someone and regretted it: yes but I barely count it as a kiss lol. I was in 8th grade and gave my boyfriend a peck on the lips and the whole thing was so forced it was stupid 
8. Been cheated on: don't think so
 9. Lost someone special: yes 
10. Been depressed: heck yeck 
 11. Gotten drunk and thrown up: yeah I was at a party with some friends in college and it was a great party most of the people were LGBT and everybody was really chill but I just really wanted to get wrecked lol. I started with beer because I thought that was all they had but then I found out they had Smirnoff ice and I started drinking those, and I played a drinking game with shots of Long Island iced tea.... best party ever even though I did get sick twice 

LIST 3 FAVORITE COLORS:
 12-14: I can't believe this is just a clever way to skip my favorite number in the questions but ok: ultramarine blue, lime green, umm. Plum purple? Not all at once lol 

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU:
 15. Made new friends: yes
 16. Fallen out of love: yes (only romantically) 
17. Laughed until you cried: yes, usually because of The Squad, my Skype group 
18. Found out someone was talking about you: yupperooza. 
19. Met someone who changed you: hmmmm. I followed someone on tumblr does that count? 
20. Found out who your friends are: yes 
21. Kissed someone on your Facebook list: my gf ;) 

GENERAL: 
22. How many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: almost all of them, so around 200
 23. Do you have any pets: Sasha, a 6 year old border collie-husky mix who is black with blue eyes (she's a little brat who tries to trip everyone by tackling their feet), and Gretchen, a 11 year old German shepherd mix with a big belly (and a bigger heart) and a curly tail 
24. Do you want to change your name: yeah, my legal name is both too feminine and too biblical. Hopefully someday I'll get to change it legally to Peri. 
25. What did you do for your last Birthday: I honestly don't remember :') it was probably boring 
26. What time did you wake up: I woke up at 9 surprisingly well rested 
27. What were you doing at midnight last night: watching Jupiter Ascending which is one heck of a movie 
28. Name something you can’t wait for: going to visit my geef in New Jersey again
 29. When was the last time you saw your mom: I'm sitting next to her on the couch watching family feud right now 
30. What is one thing you wish you could change in your life: GIVE ME THE HECKENING MOTIVATION!!!!
 31. What are you listening right now: G-Mix: Russel on Spotify. I'm goin through all of their playlists. B) 
32. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: there were a few different guys named Tom at the campgrounds we used to go to every summer. 
33. Something that is getting on your nerves: my LACK!! OF MOTIVATION!!!!! 
34. Most visited website: tumblr, YouTube, kimcartoon 

LOST QUESTIONS. I JUST PUT IN RANDOM INFO ABOUT ME 
35. Mole/s: a few on my arms
 36. Mark/s: fuckin perpetual acne and scars from it on my shoulders and back : ) a birthmark on my left side and supposedly one on the back of my neck but ofc I've never actually seen it -squints- a few freckles here and there 
37. Childhood dream: to be literally every fucking profession. I wanted to be a princess, a fire fighter, a veterinarian, a cop, a psychiatrist...
 38. Hair color: brown
 39. Long or short hair: short, I look like one of the Beatles lmao 
40. Do you have a crush on someone: does my gf count 👀 
41. What do you like about yourself: I'm a good friend and I got a nice body 😘
 42. Piercings: just 2, one traditional piercing in each ear. I really want a bar of some kind, at least one cartilage piercing. 
 43. Blood type: O+
 44. Nickname: saoirse, seersh, peri, peridot 
45. Relationship status: taken by my gf 46. Zodiac: sexy, sexy Sagittarius ;)
 47. Pronouns: they/them or... ya know what idc actually any pronouns lol
 48. Favorite TV Show: Steven Universe, Rick and Morty, Community 49. Tattoos: none YET 
50. Right or left hand: right-handed though I am slightly better with my left hand at frisbee for some reason 
51. Surgery: once I had a surgery on my tooth that never came down because the teeth on either side were too close together. 
52. Hair dyed in different color: never :c
 ... yet 53. Sport: I used to be in track/field for one year in middle school, I was horrible at it but I did the 200, high jump and long jump. When I say I was bad at it I mean I was Literally The Worst on the team by far. I like to watch hockey especially in the arena because it gets WILD in there. You get to hear all the crazy shit all the drunk fans are saying and watch people get into fights and yell at each other 54. was there a 54 before bc i lost it i guess? and i just copy-pasted the whole thing 
55. Vacation: a nice little cabin in the woods with hiking trails around it would be perfect 👌 I'd also like to go on a cross-country road trip someday 
56. Pair of trainers: these black ones with neon laces that I wear to work, my favorite ones right now that are black with stars that glow in the dark (I don't wear them to work so as not to wear them out), a pair of black converse and a pair of black and teal vans, both of which I've had for years MORE GENERAL:
 57. Eating: nothing right now 
58. Drinking: coke  
59. I’m about to: READ A FUCKING BOOK FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 2 YEARS 
61. Waiting for: me to get my shit together 
62. Want: a raise? No? Damn. motivation??? .... shit. 
63. Get married: someday, u know it -finger guns- 
64. Career: artist/illustrator if I HAD THAT FUCKING MOTIVATION 👏👏👏 i have been wondering how I would do as a plumber tho.. 🤔 

WHICH IS BETTER 
65. Hugs or kisses: hugs
? 66. Lips or eyes: eyes
 67. Shorter or taller: maybe.. a LITTLE taller????????????? if ANYTHING??
 68. Older or younger: I am 19 and too far in either direction is Uncomfortable 😐
 70. Nice arms or nice stomach: What Does This Mean (in general tummies are nice tho) 
71. Sensitive or loud: hm?? I'm sensitive to loud noises???? I really don't know what this means
 72. Hook up or relationship: relationship
 73. Troublemaker or hesitant: "i’m a hesitant trouble-maker" -my gf and honestly, same 

HAVE YOU EVER: 
74. Kissed a Stranger: no 
75. Drank hard liquor: hell yea 
76. Lost glasses/contact lenses: I've briefly been unable to find them but I always find them again 
 77. Turned someone down: yes have you ever been friends with a Nice Guy 
78. Sex on the first date: what is this... Sex
 79. Broken someone’s heart: probably since I've turned people down 
80. Had your heart broken: yeah
 81. Been arrested: nope 😏don't plan on it either 
82. Cried when someone died: umm I cried like a week after someone died does that count? My emotions are delayed sometimes
 83. Fallen for a friend: ;) ye 

 DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
 84. Yourself: barely
 85. Miracles: not technically 
86. Love at first sight: sometimes 
87. Santa Claus: again not technically but I think he's a good symbol for kids and in general positive vibes during the holiday season
 88. Kiss on the first date: yeanoooo.. it takes a while for me. When in doubt just ask. And listen to my response lmao (someone kissed me after I said no and MMM 😬) 

OTHER:
 90. Current best friend name: I can't just pick one 😫I have like 10 REALLY great friends I trust with my life 
 91. Eye color: grey-green
 92. Favorite movie: the only movie I can think of right now is Jupiter Ascending because i just saw it last night and it's the first movie I've seen in months lol. OH FUCKING HECK INTERSTELLAR THATS MY FAVORITE MOVIE I LOVE INTERSTELLAR 

NOW, TAG 20 PEOPLE: imma do what tessa did and tag the last 20 mutuals in my notes so don’t feel obligated to do this or even read it! also if you don’t want me to tag you in these in the future let me know and i’ll do my best to avoid it. @gordamnramsey, @mysteriousquartz, @celestialmoonlights, @viviannevendetta, @carryonmywaywardplanet, @jamesxfilesthemeroach, @lordsardine, @woahdaleks, @prettythinker, @belleweather, @squidego, @reck2468, @sexyninjakitty96, @animeandmanga-bearcat, @thesamanthagossamer

im actually gonna cut it off there at 15 bc i don’t have that many active mutuals lol oK HAVE FUN EVERYBODY make sure to tag me if you do this!