"she could have gone through her entire life without it ever being a problem."

"one tap in the right spot.. and it exploded." said madelyn

"exactly. now i can fix it. you three did great work. love to stay and kiss your asses but i got to tell katie's parents she's having surgery." derek said. he turned to the the nurse.

"katie bryce's chart, please."

"dr. shepherd, you'd said that you'd pick someone to scrub in if we helped?" christina said sheepishly.

"oh, yes. right. i'm sorry i can't take all three of you. it's gonna be a full house. meredith and madelyn, i'll see you in the o.r." derek said.

madelyn did a fist pump in the air and skipped away.

in a good mood, madelyn went to then trauma room to run some labs bailey had pages her for.

waiting in line, a familiar face approached her.

"grey, hi!" alex said, standing beside her in line.

"hey karev. running labs too?"

"yeah. i hear you scored on shepherds surgery."

"subarachnoid hemorrhage. she had a small aneurysm that burst when she hit just the right spot when she fell and twisted her ankle."

"what are the odds, hey?"

"what are the odds." madelyn chuckled.

the lab tech called out madelyn's patient, and she walked up and grabbed them.

"see you around, karev."

"see you around." he repeated.

madelyn walked off to go find bailey. she gave bailey the labs when her pager went off.

it was shepherd, telling her to scrub in, the surgery was supposed to start soon.

madelyn ran down the halls of the hospital, until she reached the o.r. katie bryce's surgery was taking place.

meredith was already inside, and madelyn scrubbed in and walked inside the o.r.

"alright everybody, it's a beautiful night to save lives!"

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i can't think of any one reason i want to be a surgeon. but i can think of a thousand reasons why i should quit.

they make it hard on purpose. there are lives in our hands. there comes a moment when it's more then just a game and you either take that step forward or turn around and walk away.

i could quit, but here's the thing.. i love the playing field.

💙💙💙

"oh, and we've changed our minds. we're not going to sell the house. we're gonna keep it." meredith explained.

"we'll have to get a couple of roommates.. but, it's home, you know?" madelyn said to her mother.

"are you the doctor?" ellis asked.

"no, i'm not your doctor. but i am a doctor." meredith answered.

ellis fiddled with her watch on her wrist, confused. she usually was.

"what's your name?" ellis asked.

"it's us, mom. madelyn and meredith."

"all right. i used to be a doctor, i think." meredith grabbed her mother's hand.

"you were a doctor, mom. you were a surgeon."

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"roommates wanted" read the paper meredith pinned to the board.

"are you sure about this, mer? do we really need roommates. you got me, aren't i enough?" madelyn asked.

"you know i love you, but i also hate you. we need friends, madelyn. plus we need help paying the mortgage." meredith finalized.

madelyn wasn't to open on the idea of having roommates. she enjoyed her alone time. but meredith was right, the needed help paying for the house.

it's all about lines. the finish line at the end of residency. waiting in line for a chance at the operating table.

and then, there's the most important line. the line separating you from the people you work with.

it doesn't help to get too familiar. to make friends. you need boundaries between you and the rest of the world.

other people are far too messy. it's all about lines. drawing lines in the sand and praying like hell no one crosses them.

💙💙💙

"how do you put up posters for roommates if you don't want roommates?" izzie asked meredith.

"i do want roommates. we're together a hundred hours a week. you want to live together too?" meredith shot back.

" i see you bring bribes now, huh?" christina asked, walking past the group.

"my mom irons my scrubs. i have to get out of there." george pleaded.

"awe, mer. let the puppy stay." madelyn joked.

"it's not a bribe." meredith called at christina.

"i don't think it's a good idea." she finished.

"i can put down last, first, and deposit." george bargained.

"it's totally a bribe." christina said again, walking past them.

"i can cook, and i'm an obsessive cleaner." izzie offered again.

"she cleans! we should let her stay too." said madelyn.

"god knows we don't clean." madelyn mumbled under her breath.

"no! i just want two total strangers who i don't have to talk to or be nice to, and it's not a bribe. it's a mocha latte." said meredith, before walking over to bailey.

"george, you're running the code team. madelyn, take the trauma pager. christina, deliver the weekend labs to the patients. izzie, you're on sutures. meredith, check on the patients in the e.r." bailey instructed before walking away, meredith following her.

madelyn took the trauma pager and ran off.

later, madelyn received a page.

she ran down to the trauma room to see what had happened.

"are you a surgeon?" a nurse asked her.

"yeah."

"we've got a rape victim. better get in there." the nurse told her, madelyn ran in to see what had happened.

"twenty-five-year-old female. found down at the park. status, post trauma. she came in with a gcs of six. b.p. , eighty over sixty. exam is significant for blunt head trauma. unequal breath sounds, right pupil is dilated, and she's ready for x-ray. ready to roll?" the nurse filled madelyn in.

"yeah. call ahead to clear a c.t.," madelyn said, looking into the eyes of the victim with her flashlight.

"let them know i'm coming. load up the portable monitor. call respiratory for a ventilator. i'll get x-rays while i'm down there." madelyn instructed.

they rolled the woman down and did the tests, then brought her to the o.r.

💙💙💙

"she's gonna spend a hell of a long time in recovery and rehab." derek commented.

"if she survives." burke added.

"what is she, like five' two, hundred pounds?shes still breathing after what this guy did to her? if they catch the guy, they should castrate him." derek said.

"she how shredded her hands are?" burke pointed out,

"she tried to fight back."

"tried to? rape kit came back negative. she kicked his ass." derek chuckled.

"so, we have a warrior among us, huh?" burke said to the people in the o.r.

"allison." madelyn blurted. everyone turned to look at her.

"her, her name is allison." madelyn finished.

"allison." derek repeated.

"i think i may have found the cause of our rupture." said burke.

he grabbed a pair of surgical scissors and snipped something.

he pulled something from the wound.

"what is this? does anyone know what this is?" asked burke.

"oh, my god." madelyn said quietly.

"what? spit it out, grey." burke pushed.

"she bit it off."

"but off what?"

"that's h-his.. penis. she bit off his, his penis."

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