Season 2, Episode 21:  Superstition
Overall Episode Number:  30
Created by:  Shonda Rhimes

/ / / 

My college campus has a magic statue. It's a long-standing tradition for students to rub its nose for good luck. My freshman roommate really believed in the statue's power... and insisted on visiting it to rub its nose before every exam. Studying might have been a better idea. She flunked out her sophomore year. But the fact is we all have little superstitious things that we do. If it's not believing in magic statues, it's avoiding sidewalk cracks, or always putting our left shoe on first. Knock on wood. Step on a crack, break your mother's back. The last thing we want to do is offend the gods.

-        Meredith Grey

/ / /

Mackenzie was sitting at the nurse's station when Addison walked up to her and handed the girl a cup of hot cocoa. Mackenzie graciously took the hot cocoa, but did so with a confused look on her face.

"Hot cocoa? But Christmas was a few weeks ago, Addison." 

Addison just smiled at her stepdaughter. "It's juju cocoa, Mack. Remember the juju cocoa?"

"I'm incapable of forgetting anything, but yes, I remember the juju cocoa," Mackenzie said with a laugh.

Back in New York, it was a sort of ritual to receive juju cocoa after a bad day of surgeries. Mackenzie knew if she was given a cup of cocoa from Derek, Mark, or Addison, it meant that there'd been a string of unsuccessful surgeries, and the trio were in desperate need of some good luck.

The 11-year-old girl turned serious when she realized that Addison had given her a cup of juju cocoa. "You're giving me juju cocoa. How bad is it to be given juju cocoa, Addison?"

"Bad enough," Addison replied. "Your father, Burke, Bailey, and I all had patients who died on the table today."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Mackenzie stated. "4 surgeries, 4 deaths... and all in one day. Isn't it considered bad luck to have 7 surgeries and 7 deaths in one day?"

The neonatal surgeon nodded. "Yeah. I figured that we could all use some good juju today."

Mackenzie started to say something else, but was interrupted by Bailey and her interns walking by the nurse's station.

Addison quickly walked up to the small group. "Uh, Dr. Bailey." The redhead handed Bailey a cup of cocoa. "Here you go."

"What's this?" Bailey questioned.

"Hot cocoa. It's a little ritual we had in New York. Four surgeries, four deaths, I figured we could all use a little good juju." Addison answered.

Bailey gave the surgeon a skeptical look. "And cocoa equals juju how?"

"Hey, hey, hey. Don't question the cocoa. Carry on," Addison commented.

The interns start to walk away with Bailey, and Meredith was trailing behind.

"Meredith," Addison called. The older woman handed the intern a cup. "Thank you for your help this morning."

Meredith wore a look of surprise on her face. "Oh. Thank you, Addison."

"Yeah. Thank you."

Derek observed the exchange between Meredith and Addison. After Meredith leaves, he walks up to his wife.

"Here you go," Addison said and handed him a cup.

"Juju." Derek commented.

Addison nodded. "Yep."

"You jujued Meredith," he stated.

Addison smiled. "I did. In the spirit of friendship."

"Hmm," Derek hummed.

"What? Are we not being friends with Meredith anymore?"

Mackenzie – who had been silent for a little while – watched the interactions between her father and stepmother.

"No, no, we are. Meredith and I are friends," Derek agreed.

Addison nodded along with her husband's words. "And you and I are married. So then, by proxy, Meredith and I are friends."

"That's very big of you," Derek noticed.

"Yeah," Addison agreed.

Derek looked at his wife. "You don't have to do that. It's not like I'm gonna be friends with let's say, uh... Mark."

Addison held back her wince and took another sip from her cup. "Yeah, well, neither am I. Now finish your juju before somebody else dies."

"Hmm," Derek hummed.

When Addison turned the corner, Mackenzie walked up to Derek while drinking her own cup of juju cocoa. "Since when is Addie friends with Meredith?"

"Since when did you start calling her Addie again?" Derek asked in return.

Ever since Addison came to Seattle, Mackenzie had been calling her Addison instead of Addie. The young girl felt that her stepmother wasn't deserving of being called Addie after what happened between her and Mark, so it was a surprise to Derek when Mackenzie used that all too familiar nickname for the first time in months.

Mackenzie looked up at Derek, shrugging her shoulders. "Just now, actually." She answered. "I'm going to see Denny for a little while. Page me if you need me. Love you, Papa."

Derek smiled when his daughter gave him a kiss on the cheek, watching her walk down the corridor with a sense of pride filling his chest.

"I love you so much more, sweetheart."

/ / /

Mackenzie walked into Denny's room after Izzie and Alex left. She was thankful that she hadn't shown up when the pair of interns were still in the room; she did not want to be present for the obvious awkwardness between Denny and Alex.

The 11-year-old girl knocked on the door that had been left open. "You got a sec, Denny?"

Denny looked up at Mackenzie with his signature lopsided smile. "For you, kid? I got nothing but time. Come in and make yourself comfortable."

Mackenzie sat down in the plastic hospital chair next to Denny's bed. "I overheard Dr. Burke saying that you've been having breathing pains lately. Why didn't you say anything about it yesterday, Denny? I was sitting right here; I could've told Dr. Burke for you."

Denny sighed softly and gently rubbed his thumb over Mackenzie's knuckles. "I didn't want you to worry about me, kiddo."

"You're my friend, Denny – I have a right to worry about you," Mackenzie stated. "What did Izzie and Alex say when they were in here earlier?"

"They think it's a pulmonary embolism; a possible complication from my LVAD surgery. Which means that Dr. Burke is gonna have to make a few changes."

Mackenzie let out a sigh. "You don't deserve this, Denny. You deserve to be exploring the world and living your life – not being cooped up in a hospital with an LVAD."

Denny grabbed ahold of the girl's hand. "Nobody deserves this – this pain and constant worry about living to see another day. But I would rather live with this pain than see someone else carry it with them. Mackenzie, by now, I'm sure you know that life isn't always fair. It never has been, and it never will be. The important thing is to do your best with what you have. I'm gonna do my damned hardest with what I've got... even if it kills me."

Mackenzie squeezed Denny's hand gently. "You remind me of my parents. They're both too stubborn for their own good."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Denny questioned with a laugh.

Mackenzie let out a heartfelt laugh, making Denny smile even more. He knew that Mackenzie has gone through hardships in the last year or so, and he wanted to be able to make her laugh and smile.

Because if Denny Duquette knew anything... he knew that Mackenzie deserved to smile and be happy.

/ / /

Meredith was walking through the halls, highlighting a book. She walked up to Derek at the same time Addison exited a nearby elevator with Mackenzie.

"Hey," Meredith greeted.

Derek turned towards Meredith. "Hi."

The intern noticed Addison walking towards them. "Hey..."

"Oh, hey," Addison greeted.

"Hey, Mer." Mackenzie greeted without any awkwardness whatsoever.

Meredith gave the young girl a smile. "Hi."

Derek nodded towards Meredith. "Hi."

"I, uh... have to..." Meredith hesitated.

"Yeah," Derek spoke.

Addison nodded. "Yeah."

Meredith walked away from the small family of 3.

Mackenzie looked between Derek and Addison. "As much as I love you both... I'm going to find George. Wait up, Mer!" She called to her mother's ex-girlfriend.

Mackenzie wanted to get away from the awkwardness that Derek and Addison were displaying.

/ / /

After Meredith left to go tend to her patient, Mackenzie continued wandering through the corridors of Seattle Grace, looking for George. Luckily, she found him sitting on one of the gurneys in the basement.

"George?" Mackenzie asked as she approached him. He looked as if he was deep in thought. "You doing okay?"

George snapped out of whatever trance he was in when he heard Mackenzie's voice, turning to her with a smile on his face. "Hey, Ellie. I'm doing okay," he told her. "How about you? Are you doing okay? I'm sorry I haven't seen you a lot today, but I was running an errand for Dr. Burke."

"It's okay, George. I understand you were doing something important for Dr. Burke; I'm not mad or anything," she said and joined him on the gurney.

She smiled when she laid her head on his shoulder, feeling his arm wrap around her. "Hmm. You give the third best hugs in the world."

"Oh, really?" George hummed. "Who outranks me, sweetheart?"

"Papa and Dad – no offense," the young girl replied.

George chuckled and kissed his sister's head. "No offense taken, honey. But you still didn't answer my question. Are you doing okay? You know you can always tell me anything... even if you think it's embarrassing or dumb."

Mackenzie sighed and messed with the hem of her shirt. "Addie said she's friends with Meredith now, which I think is big coming from her. But whenever Meredith is around Papa and Addie... they're all very awkward, and it makes me not want to be around them. I don't want to hurt their feelings by avoiding them, but at the same time, I can't stand the awkward silence between the three of them. It's just a big, messy triangle that's getting harder and harder to avoid. Am I a bad person for not wanting to be around my own father, stepmom, and one of my friends, George?"

Despite his falling out with Meredith a few weeks prior, George couldn't help but feel his heart pang with hurt at Mackenzie's words. The poor girl was caught in the middle of a very messy love triangle, and she didn't know what to do about it. The intern just pressed a few kisses to his sister's head and gently rubbed her shoulder for added comfort.

"No, sweetheart. You're not a bad person for wanting to avoid them. I promise you that it doesn't make you a bad person. I know you get uncomfortable being around those three whenever they're in the same room as you, and that's okay. I know things have been on the tense side with both Dr. Shepherds since your dad came to visit you a few weeks ago, which is understandable. I'm sure things will work themselves out soon. I'm not saying things will go back to the way they were – I don't think they ever will – but at least with time, you'll be able to go back to having some sense of normalcy in your life. Does that make sense, honey?"

Mackenzie listened intently to George's words, nodding when he asked her a question. "I understand. Thank you, Georgie. You always know just what to say to help me feel better."

George chuckled and pulled Mackenzie closer to his side. "You're welcome, Ellie. I'm your big brother; I'm supposed to help make you feel better. It's part of my job description, y'know. I'll always be here to help you in your time of need."

The young girl gently chuckled at his words. "And I'll always be here to help you in your time of need. I love you, George O'Malley."

George felt his heart swell with happiness. "I love you more, Mackenzie Shepherd-Sloan."

/ / /

Superstition lies in the space between what we can control... and what we can't. Find a penny, pick it up, and all day long you'll have good luck. No one wants to pass up a chance for good luck. But does saying it 33 times really help? Is anyone really listening? And if no one's listening, why do we bother doing those strange things at all? We rely on superstitions because we're smart enough to know we don't have all the answers. And that life works in mysterious ways. Don't diss the juju... from wherever it comes.

-        Meredith Grey

/ / /

Addison walked up to Meredith with two cups of coffee in her hands.

"Hey," the neonatal surgeon greeted.

Meredith nodded politely at Addison. "Hey."

"I'm sorry to hear about your patient," Addison apologized.

Meredith nodded once more. "Thank you, Addison."

Addison gives one cup to Meredith, and then walks to where Derek is standing with Mackenzie, handing him the other cup.

"Here you go, babe."

Derek takes the coffee graciously. "Thank you."

Addison nods. "Hmm. Ready?" She asked her husband and stepdaughter.

Derek hands the cup of coffee back to Addison. "Yeah. Here you go. Thank you." He then turned to his daughter. "Hey, baby girl. I'll be home later, okay? Don't give Addison any trouble, and I'll see you when I get home."

Mackenzie nodded. "Okay. I love you, Papa."

"Papa loves you more, pumpkin." Derek said before kissing her head.

/ / /

2318 words

Next Update:  The Name of the Game

*I finally updated! I'm so sorry that I made you guys wait so long for an update; I got really busy and I completely pushed this to the back of my mind. Don't worry, though, because I intend to finish the rest of season 2 in the next few weeks. We are now entering the final 6 episodes of season 2!*

Published:  8/24/2021