Chapter Text
Meredith stepped outside of Seattle Grace hospital after her shift, looking up at the relentless downpour that was typical for Seattle that time of year. It had only been a few weeks since Meredith had started her second year of residency for the surgical program, but so much had changed from the year before.
Her first year of residency had started with accidentally sleeping with her boss’ boss and had ended with breaking up with said man at the wedding of her best friend, that didn’t actually happen.
During her first year of residency, Meredith had chosen to live together with two of her fellow interns, a choice she had sometimes regretted with all the drama it also brought. Her house had sometimes been chaotic, but it had also felt alive.
After her first year however, the blonde resident had decided to do the grown up thing and started living alone. That meant that the floorboards didn’t creak anymore at the crack of dawn, the silence had reclaimed the rooms, making it feel like the ghosts of her past could overwhelm her if she wasn’t careful.
She told herself that she liked the quiet, that her dark and twisty side was better off living alone, not dragging her friends down with her, or the other way around. But as she stood outside of the hospital, mentally preparing herself to step into the rain, she was second guessing her choices of the past few weeks. Her house didn’t feel like a sanctuary, but more like a haunted place she couldn’t escape.
Meredith made sure her hood was still up and then braced herself to start running towards her Jeep, hoping to minimize the damage the rain would do as she hadn’t brought her jacket that morning. She was ready to start running, when all of a sudden, she saw something reflect from under an ambulance.
It made her hesitate for a moment and as she stood there, still mentally prepared to run, she heard it. A soft and pitiful meow, coming from the direction of the reflected light. Carefully going closer to the source of the noise and stepping into the rain. The blonde saw that the reflected light actually came from two amber colored eyes, looking at her with obvious fear.
She carefully crouched down, feeling the rain soak her clothes immediately as she had left the shelter that had protected her before. However her focus wasn’t on her clothes that were getting wet, but on the bedraggled looking cat that looked way too thin. It was shivering, from the cold or the fear, Meredith didn’t know but she knew she couldn’t let that poor animal stay there. Especially since she wasn’t even sure if the small cat would survive if it stayed there.
Feeling the strain in her legs, she actually got down on her knees, feeling the muddled and cold water seep into her jeans. “Hey there little one, what are you doing there?”
The cat got startled by her voice and retreated even further under the ambulance, trying to hide in the shadows as much as it could.
“Meredith?” A voice called out, sounding clearer than she would have expected with the heavy rain around her. It was a voice she’d recognize everywhere, a voice that she had hoped at one point not to hear anymore, but now brought some kind of comfort.
She didn’t have to turn around to know that Addison Forbes Montgomery was standing behind her, probably still looking refined and elegant despite the water falling from the sky.
Meredith didn’t turn around. She didn't have to. Over the last year, the space between them had shifted from a battlefield to something much more complicated. A quiet, professional distance that was somehow more exhausting than the fighting had been. They were no longer the people they had been when they first met, but they hadn't quite figured out who they were to each other now. They just shared a love for surgery, a hospital, a past lover and a silence that neither of them knew how to fill.
“There’s a cat,” Meredith softly said, still not moving since she didn’t want to startle the little creature too much. “I think it’s hurt…”
She heard the tell tale sound of Addison’s heels coming closer until the woman was next to her. Addison’s designer trousers were dangerously close to the puddles of rainwater mixed with dirt and motor oil. The redhead carefully squatted and peered under the ambulance. “It’s paw is bleeding so the poor thing is definitely hurt, but more than that, it looks like it hasn’t had a meal in weeks.”
Meredith tried to reach the cat, stretching her arm as far as she could, but she realized she couldn’t. The pitiful creature let out a sound that could barely count as a meow, sounding extremely weak, even though it still looked ready to fight. “It doesn’t trust me.”
An umbrella was placed against the ambulance and Meredith was shocked when Addison joined her on the waterlogged ground, not seeming to care about her expensive clothes getting wet and definitely dirty. At that moment, they weren't a resident and an attending or an ex-mistress and an ex- wife. They were both trying to help a little and lost cat, a bit like they were both lost as well hoping for someone or something to change.
“It needs a distraction, a way to awaken its instincts and override those that are keeping him hidden,” Addison said as she reached into a pocket and pulled out her hospital ID. It hung from a lanyard Meredith had seen countless times but never up close. It was actually a heavy, silk ribbon with a diamond-encrusted clip.
“Is that an actual diamond? Meredith couldn’t help but ask, a dry laugh escaping her as she thought about the absurdity of the situation they were in.
"It was a gift from Derek’s mother," Addison said, her tone clipped but not unkind. "I couldn’t find it in me to part from it after the divorce. However it’s the only thing I have at the moment that catches the light in this dismal weather."
Addison began to jiggle with the lanyard, near the underside of the ambulance and as close as she could come to the cat. The diamond created a small flicker against the wet ground and the metal from the ambulance, it was almost hypnotic, especially with the rhythmic falling of the rain around them. The cat’s attention was immediately upon its new toy, amber eyes tracking the movement of the lanyard and the flicker that the diamond created.
It started moving a little bit closer to the two doctors, sitting in the rain. “Come on little one,” Addison gently tried to coax the scruffy little animal in a voice she usually reserved for her smallest patients.
The cat reached the edge of the shadow it was hiding in, but just as Meredith wanted to reach for the cat, thunder struck, making the cat bolt under the ambulance again, distraught by the noise.
“The diamonds aren’t working,” Meredith said, after Addison had tried again to make the cat move towards them. “It’s a Seattle cat. It’s probably dark and cynical. It doesn’t want jewelry, it probably wants a bribe.”
“And I suppose you have one?” Addison asked, raising a perfectly groomed eyebrow as she pulled back the lanyard. She looked remarkably poised for someone whose silk ribbon was now dripping with parking lot sludge.
“Wait here,” Meredith said as she pushed herself up from the ground and sprinted back to the ER.
Addison watched as Meredith ran back towards the hospital, through the sliding doors of the ER. Her clothes were already sticking to her body, her hair in small clumps because of the rain.
Then, there was silence, the only sound was the rain hitting the asphalt and the ambulance she was almost leaning against. For a moment, it seemed like the world had stopped around her, as the usual hustle and bustle of the ER bay was calm and quiet.
She looked down at her hands. Her usually perfectly manicured hands were smudged with what seemed like motor oil and her hands were slightly trembling because of the cold. The tire she was leaning against, practically holding up, smelled a bit like burned rubber.
If her mother, Bizzy, could see her at that moment, she wouldn’t even seem her worthy of a glance and she would definitely not recognize her daughter. She was raised to always look poised and proper, to set an example and to keep certain people at a distance.
Of course, seeing as she had divorced her husband, she had already divided from the course they had set for her. Especially seeing her parents’ marriage, where it seemed like adultery and deceit had been taken up in their vows. Even then, her parents would likely think she had a nervous breakdown.
A few years ago, she might have agreed with them. She had been their princess, doing what they expected from her, even when she had found signs that her own husband might have extramarital affairs in New York. She had ignored it and kept on going, leading the life that showed others what kind of power couple they were.
That bubble burst, when she had made a mistake of her own, in a moment of weakness, after the years of Derek coming home with another woman’s parfum on him, or him missing dates or anniversaries. She had tried to cling to her marriage like she had been taught, but it hadn’t worked and a divorce had been inevitable.
Looking at the pair of eyes that stayed locked on her, she felt a strange kind of kinship with the creature under the ambulance. She was a world class surgeon that was asked to consult or work in the entire country, even outside of it. But in Seattle, she often felt like a ghost. She had come there to try and fix a marriage that had been dead for years and at that point, she was staying to prove that she could survive the aftermath of her failed relationship and come out stronger. Plus, there was also the part that she liked to see Derek squirm, as she still walked the hallways of the hospital.
She jiggled with the lanyard with the diamond encrusted clip, watching the refractions of light. It was beautiful, it was expensive, but there was nothing she could do with it at that moment, in the middle of the usual Seattle downpour. Addison had gotten it from Mrs. Shepherd when she had started as an attending, having finished her residency. Her own parents hadn’t even sent a note, but Derek’s mother had been thoughtful enough to give her that beautiful gift. It was because of her respect and gratitude towards the woman that she still kept the clip, but she couldn’t help but know that it would be the last time that the clip hung on her lanyard. Feeling like it was something from her past she was clinging to, the warmth she had gotten from Derek’s family. There was only one family member that still reached out to her, but she hadn’t seen her in months.
When the sound of footsteps running towards her in the big puddles of water reached her ears, Addison kept her eyes on the little and shivering cat in front of her, not wanting the creature to run away. It wasn’t like she needed to look up. The redhead knew the rhythm of Meredith’s hurried pace, having heard it throughout the hospital often enough. And as the resident neared her again, she felt a sudden pang of something that wasn’t quite friendship towards the younger woman, but it felt dangerously like solidarity.
As Meredith returned from inside the hospital, she was pleasantly surprised that Addison was still there, sitting on the wet ground and trying to coax the cat with her lanyard. Meredith had half expected the woman to be gone. And perhaps the cat as well.
Meredith dropped back down on the ground, immediately feeling the water seep back into her jeans. Next to her, Addison was looking at her, clearly wondering where she had gone. Her red hair was starting to stick to her face and there was a dark smear on the cream-colored sleeve of her jacket. The woman looked… human. For the first time since she had returned from the non-honeymoon with Cristina, she really looked at her and she saw a woman who was just as exhausted as she was and not the normally composed and perfect attending she portrayed herself to be.
Meredith didn’t say anything, she just opened the plastic lid of the tuna salad she had gotten from the cafetaria. The smell that reached her nose was immediate and aggressive, almost making her gag. There was a reason she never picked that salad. It was a sharp and salty contrast to the clean scent of the rain that somehow smelled like new beginnings. She scooped a bit of the fishy mush that lay on top and with her finger she smeared it onto the asphalt, just inches from the edge of the shadow where the distrustful amber eyes watched them carefully.
They barely dared to breathe or wanted to with the tuna smell. She didn’t want to break the shared and heavy silence, waiting to see what the small animal would do. The rain that kept on falling drummed on the roof of the ambulance they were standing next to, creating an almost soothing rhythm.
"You've got questionable fish on your hands," Addison noted, barely audible.
“And you’re ruining an outfit that probably costs more than twice my monthly wages,” Meredith countered, just as softly.
To her surprise, Addison let out a short, genuine laugh. A sound that was startling against the lulling beat of the rain. “It’s just fabric, Meredith. I’d be a very sad excuse of a doctor if I put more stock into my clothing than a life, even a very small and furry one.”
For a moment, Meredith was afraid that the cat would be startled by the noise they were making, but the sound of Addison’s laugh, coupled with their voices, seemed to do the opposite. Under the ambulance, the cat’s ears twitched and the creature’s face swiveled towards Addison, some of the tension that their small little body had carried visibly ebbing away.
As the cat set a tentative step towards them, it was clear that it wasn’t just the scent of the tuna that was drawing them out. It was also the warm resonance of Addison’s voice amid the soft drumming of rainfall, that brought them closer. A tiny, questioning, but also pathetic little meow came from the cat, that finally let the safety of darkness, to come closer to them.
The creature was shaking so much, it could barely walk and when it was within reaching distance, Meredith didn’t hesitate. Moving with the precision she usually reserved for the OR, she gently grabbed the cat by its neck, pulling it towards her chest. She immediately tucked the shivering feline into the dryer interior of her hoodie, trying to share her body heat so the shivering might ease up a little.
“Got him!” Meredith breathed, a small burst of triumph cutting through her exhaustion. The cat let out a muffled, raspy protest, trying to wriggle free, but after a second, it went limp against her, its head resting right above her heart. It was like he recognized that he was finally safe and Meredith couldn’t help but feel an attachment already towards the little cat.
Addison stood up, her movements still graceful, despite her bedraggled state with her coat that had dark smudges on it and her trousers that were also clinging to her legs, completely wet from the rain. The woman looked at the pathetic little ball of fur that rested against Meredith and for a moment, her expression was her usual mask of professionalism, but then it softened. A mix of pity and something that resembled longing was visible in the woman’s eyes.
The attending reached out towards Meredith, as if she wanted to gently stroke the cat’s fur. Her fingers hovered for a moment, before they retreated again, as if she remembered that the furry little animal was currently resting against Meredith’s chest.
"He needs a vet," Addison said softly, her voice blending back into the rhythm of the rain. "And he needs a place to stay that isn't the underside of a vehicle, especially with the weather in Seattle."
A pensive look appeared on Addison’s face, with frustration also visible, as if she was trying to solve a problem. “I would take him, but I only just signed a short term lease for an apartment, so I don’t think I’m able to take him. Especially seeing as I’ll have to move again in a few months. He needs a stable home.”
Meredith glanced at that snoozing little form that had curled up in her hoodie. She thought about her house that felt too large and empty, since Izzy and George had moved out. She also thought about Doc, their shared dog that had died, but realized that dog was a lot bigger than a cat. “I live alone now,” she said, before she could actually think about what she was suggesting. “My fellow residents moved out after the end of our intern year, so it’s just me and a lot of empty space. I’ve got the room, but…”
“But you’re a resident,” the redheaded attending finished for her, the gears clearly turning in her head, trying to work out how they could house the little stray.
Meredith could see the change in Addison, having seen that expression a few times in the hospital as the woman solved a complex surgical case. A small smile appeared at the corner of her mouth, her eyes looking sharp with clarity of an answer already found. “You’re never home, so he’d be trading his lonely existence outside of a hospital for a lonely house.”
She merely nodded, already knowing that the woman had the answer. “So I propose a joint venture,” Addison said as she stepped closer after having retrieved her umbrella that still stood waiting against the tire.
A confused look appeared on Meredith's face, as she couldn’t follow what Addison was suggesting. “A what?”
“I can’t keep him in my temporary home and we’re both doctors, not often at home, especially you as a resident. But you have the space to keep him and I have the resources to make sure he’s well taken care of.”
Meredith didn’t point out that while her mother’s affairs still weren’t fully resolved, she had enough money to easily take care of one cat, not having to solely rely on the wages she made as a resident. “What do you propose?”
“I’ll cover the expenses,” Addison proposed, while the woman clearly tried to pull herself together, even though her eyes remained soft and caring. Meredith realized that was a look she wanted to see more often on the woman. “I’ll order everything tonight like a smart-times feeder so he doesn’t starve when you’re in surgery, a water fountain, the best food he can get… I can even arrange for a sitter on the days we’re both on call so he isn’t lonely… You provide the house, I provide the logistics.”
It seemed quite out of character for Addison to do such a thing, probably as much out of character as dropping to the wet ground with her designer clothes to help a kitten. “Why would you do this?”
A sigh escaped the older woman, the mask she had been trying to put back in place disappearing again. “Because I’m tired of being the woman who stayed in Seattle to prove that she could.”
Meredith stayed silent, feeling that Addison had more to say. The woman eventually hunched a bit, really looking at Meredith. "I look at us, and I see two women who are far too smart to be this exhausted by one man’s shadow. I’m tired of being defined by a marriage that ended years ago and a rivalry that never actually existed. I want to exist in a space where I’m not still tethered to him. Or where it feels like that."
She nodded towards the kitten, her expression softening into something almost pained. “Maybe I’m just looking for something to care about that isn't weighed down by guilt or expectation. Something small and uncomplicated. I want to go home at night and think about whether a four-pound animal is eating enough, rather than thinking about the look on Derek’s face when he sees either of us in the hallway. I want something that isn't a tragedy or complicated. Don't you?”
Meredith looked down at the tiny, rhythmic rise and fall of the fabric where the kitten’s breath hitched in its sleep. The warmth of the animal was seeping through her scrub top, a small, tangible heat that felt just as real and grounding as the unexpected honesty of the woman standing next to her. She felt the dampness of her jeans and the chill of the Seattle air, but for the first time in a long time, the cold didn't feel lonely.
She let out a long breath, watching it bloom like a small cloud in the space between them. “I’m not very good at uncomplicated,” Meredith said softly, her voice raspy and stripped of its usual defenses. “My life is full of things that are heavy and broken or dark and twisty. My house has too much empty space and too many memories I don't know what to do with, and I’m not sure I’m capable of keeping something this small safe.”
She looked up, meeting Addison’s gaze. In the dim light of the parking lot, the hierarchy of the hospital seemed to have vanished completely. She didn't see the world-class surgeon who had once been someone that shattered her happiness. Meredith saw a woman who was just as weary of the performance they had to put up as she was.
“But I think I’ve had enough of the drama, too,” Meredith confessed, feeling the exhaustion of having to perform for everyone else. “I’m tired of being the girl everyone watches to see if she’ll break, and I’m tired of the way he looks at me like I’m a problem he wants to solve. If we can have this. If we can have one thing that isn’t complicated. Then I want it.”
Addison didn’t look away. The water had ruined her perfectly styled hair and the cold air finally stripped away the last of the rigid poise she had been raised to treat as a shield. Her eyes remained fixed on Meredith with a quiet, reflective understanding. She looked at her as if she were seeing her clearly for the very first time, the rivalries and the history momentarily washed away by the cold Seattle rain and a small kitten.
“I’ve spent months leaning into my reputation here,” Addison admitted, a faint, weary shadow of a smile touching her lips. “If the interns wanted me to be Satan, I was going to be the most terrifying version of her they’d ever seen. But it’s a strange thing, isn't it? To be so visible and yet completely misunderstood. They’ve cast me as the wife who stayed too long and you as the girl who didn't see me coming. I think I’m just ready to stop playing the part. I’d rather be the person who helps you save and raise a four-pound animal.”
Meredith adjusted her grip, feeling the kitten's heartbeat steadying against her own, really looking at the redhead in front of her, weighing her options.
“A joint venture,” she eventually murmured. “But we need to keep this under the wraps. I’m tired of being the subject of everyone’s lunch break and I don't want to explain to anyone else in this hospital as to why I’m suddenly talking to you. We can't go back to pretending we haven't stood here in the rain, but those inside don’t need to know we are taking care of a small stray together.”
Addison let out a small, weary breath, her eyes lingering on the way Meredith was protecting the small animal. She nodded, a silent agreement settling between them that felt more solid than any hospital policy.
“I agree,” Addison said, her voice barely rising above the rhythmic splashing of the rain. “Let’s see if we can keep one thing just for ourselves.”
Following Meredith’s tell-tale Jeep through the long and almost flooded streets, Addison felt unbalanced like she had for the past few months, but for different reasons. She was a woman who used to have a plan for everything in her life. A surgical plan, a career trajectory, a social calendar. Now, she was following the red taillights of the ex-mistress of her ex-husband, heading toward a house that she knew only through the painful stories Derek had once told in the quiet hours of their ending marriage. Hours spent at that dreadful trailer.
She looked at the reflection of herself in the rearview mirror as she turned onto Queen Anne Hill. Her hair was a damp disaster, her makeup was long since washed away by the heavy rain and there was a literal smear of grease on her cheek. She looked... messy. And for the first time in her life, the mess didn't feel like a failure. It felt like a shedding of skin and getting back her humanity. Back in New York, a Montgomery didn't drive through the rain to save a stray with a resident. They didn't let their silk trousers get ruined by road grime. But in the quiet hum of the car, with the heater blasting against her cold skin, Addison realized she preferred this version of herself. She was a victim of Derek's affection, just like the girl in the Jeep ahead of her. There was a weird, silent intimacy in being invited into Meredith's house.
Meredith pulled the Jeep into the driveway, the gravel crunching under the tires. For a moment, she just sat there, her engine still on, watching Suture breathe against her chest where he was still nestled in her hoodie. She looked at the front door of her house. The house that had felt so empty for weeks. Letting Addison Montgomery across that threshold felt like a massive breach of her own defenses, as while her house was empty and lonely, it was still her sanctuary. Sharing an OR with the woman was one thing, it was quite another to let her see the mess of her life. The emptiness and loneliness.
She climbed out, shielding the cat with her hoodie and waited for Addison to join her. The silence of the neighborhood was only broken by the distant hiss of the rain.
"It's... Watch out for the stairs, they can be slippery," Meredith said, her voice sounding small in the open air. She was suddenly hyper-aware of the peeling paint on the porch and the chipped floorboards. Especially knowing where Addison Montgomery came from.
As she pushed the front door open, the familiar scent of the house hit her, old wood, faint lavender, and the stale chill of a place where the heat wasn't turned up high enough. Meredith stepped inside, her wet sneakers squeaking on the hardwood before she kicked them out towards the front door.
"The house is in desperate need of an upgrade," she admitted, her voice echoing slightly as she saw that Addison actually stepped out of her heels and left them carefully next to the door. Meredith then led her toward the kitchen, her eyes darting to the boxes in the hallway that she hadn't bothered to unpack, even after a year. "It’s been... quiet lately. My friends took the last of their things a few days ago, and I haven't quite figured out what to do with the space yet. It’s too big for one person. I can’t seem to fill it."
She felt a flush of embarrassment as they entered the kitchen. There was a single coffee mug in the sink, a stack of medical journals on the table, and a half-empty bottle of tequila on the counter. It looked like exactly what it was, the home of someone who only came there to sleep and hide.
Addison paused in the doorway of the kitchen, her surgeon’s eyes instinctively scanning the room. She didn't see the empty house Meredith had described, at least, not at first. She saw a home that was breathing, but with every glance she made, it showed her that the breath was shallow, like a patient in respiratory distress.
She saw the stacks of journals and the single mug, and it made her chest ache with a sudden, sharp empathy. Her own apartment was like it came from the books. It was decorated with neutral tones, the towels were always plush and white, and it smelled of nothing but expensive candles. It was perfect, and it was dead.
This house, however, was the opposite. It was undeniably lived-in. The floorboards groaned with history, the air held the weight of decades of Grey family drama and yet, it didn't feel like a home either. It felt like a museum of things Meredith was trying to outrun. It was a space designed for three or four people that was being haunted by only one. Addison could see the hollow spots where George and Izzie’s laughter must have been. The kitchen table, large enough for a family, looked heartbreakingly vast with only one chair pulled out. It wasn't just quiet, it was lonely in a way that felt structural. It was a house waiting for someone to give it a reason to keep the lights on.
She looked at Meredith, who was standing by the table with the cat clutched to her chest, looking like she expected Addison to start critiquing the dust. Addison didn't care about the dust. She cared about the fact that she was probably the first person to walk into this room in days, apart from Meredith. She felt a surge of protectiveness, not just for the cat, but for the woman standing in the center of all that empty space.
“Empty space isn't always a bad thing, Meredith,” Addison said softly, her voice grounding the frantic energy of the room. “It just means there’s room for something else.” She stepped further into the light of the kitchen, her gaze shifting to the sleeping bundle in Meredith’s arms. “And it looks like someone just claimed it.”
Meredith felt a sudden, unexpected lump in her throat. Addison wasn't judging the mess or the loneliness, she was reframing it. It made Meredith feel less like she was failing at being an adult and more like she was simply in a period of transition.
They spent the next hour working in a strange, focused harmony, much like they did in the OR. Meredith held the cat, who was surprisingly compliant now that he was out of the rain, while Addison, with the precision of someone who operated on infants, cleaned the grime from his fur and checked the injured paw.
“The laceration is superficial,” Addison diagnosed, her hands steady and warm against the cat’s skin. “He’ll be fine. He just needs a few square meals and a warm place to sleep.”
“He needs a name,” Meredith said, watching the way Addison’s fingers moved with such care.
Addison looked at the small, scruffy creature. “We found him under an ambulance. He brought us together in a parking lot to perform a rescue operation.And we’re both surgeons.” She looked at the way the tabby's fur was beginning to fluff up under the towel. “Suture?”
Meredith looked at the cat. It fit the little tuxedo cat. "Suture."
Addison stood up and walked towards the front door, stopping to step into her heels again. The house felt different with the redhead in it, less like empty walls and spaces and more like a place where a new kind of alliance was being formed. A place where she seemed to belong and stood out at the same time.
"I’ll have the automated feeder and the other supplies delivered tomorrow, Meredith. Until then, see if you can find some more of that terrible tuna."
"Addison?"
The redhead turned, her hand on the doorknob. The cool air made its way into the warm hallway, a sharp reminder of the world waiting outside.
"Thank you," Meredith said. "For the lanyard. And for... staying."
Addison smiled, a real, weary, honest smile. "I’ll see you tomorrow for 6:00 AM rounds, Grey. Try to get some sleep. You’ve been running on fumes and tequilla for too long, and even you have a breaking point."
"I have," Meredith admitted, the weight of the confession feeling lighter than she expected.
Addison stepped out onto the porch, her silhouette sharp against the streetlights. She paused for a second, looking back at the house, not as a rival's territory, but as a place that was finally breathing again. She offered a small, final nod before heading to her car.
As Addison’s car pulled away, Meredith stood on the porch for a long time, watching the taillights vanish into the Seattle mist. She went back inside and found Suture curled into a ball on the yellow towel they had placed on the counter. She sat down at the table and pulled out her phone. For the first time in months, she didn't scroll to Derek's name to stare at his name. Instead, she opened a new message to the contact she had saved months ago with a different animal, but never used.
Addison Montgomery. She typed and deleted a few times, before she settled on a message she felt comfortable sending.
He’s finally stopped shivering. He’s claimed a yellow towel in the kitchen and won't move. I think he’s finally realized he’s safe.
A moment later, the phone buzzed.
A successful bribe for a cynical cat. I, on the other hand, am currently reconsidering my life choices while trying to scrub parking lot sludge out of my hair. The logistics are handled. I've scheduled the delivery for after your shift tomorrow so you’ll actually be home to receive it. Go to sleep, Grey. We have a reputation to maintain at 6:00 AM.
Meredith stared at the screen. She was a second-year resident, she was living alone, and she was ‘dark and twisty’,but as she watched the little cat breathe, she realized she wasn't quite as alone as she had been an hour ago. For the first time in weeks, the silence of the house didn't feel like a burden. It felt like a beginning