HOPE FOR THE HOPELESS
8x12

Jackson sits down at the kitchen table as Meredith struggles to write words in purple frosting onto Zola's birthday cake.

The man raises his eyebrows as he sits his coffee cup on the table.

"Oh, damn it," Meredith huffed. "I screwed it up."

"You've been screwing it up," Charlotte shrugged as she sipped on her own coffee, bumping her fist against Jackson's after he raises it.

"'Gag Zola,' Really?" Jackson let out an amused laugh.

"Those aren't G's. Those are Y's for 'Yay.' 'Yay Zola.' ," Meredith uses a butter knife to fix the Y's.

"No, now see, a normal person would've just written 'Happy Birthday.'," Charlotte smiled sarcastically.

"Well, I couldn't fit all those letters on the cake," The woman wiped the knife off.

"Okay, who used up the last of my deodorant?" April came flying into the kitchen, holding the empty deodorant. Charlotte held back a smile at the bright pink robe that was wrapped around April's body.

"Oh, that might have been me," A woman from the kitchen smiles awkwardly, her head leaving the fridge. "Sorry. Kinda had a workout last night."

April's mouth opens slightly in shock, her eyes immediately going to Charlotte.

"Not mine," Charlotte laughed, sipping on her coffee, the redheads eyes landing on Jackson's who responded the same way.

Meredith chuckles, still messing with the purple frosted words.

"Coffee," Alex sighs, everyone's eyes follow him as he struts into the kitchen.

"Fresh out, Chief," Jackson sips his coffee, lifting the mug in a mocking way when Alex looks over at Jackson and Charlotte—the two simply enjoying the last of the substance.

"That's impossible," April furrowed her brows. "I just bought some three days ago."

"You're out of OJ too," The girl said as she finally closed the fridge doors.

"Hey, you're still here?" Alex stood in front of the coffee machine.

"Oh, yeah," The girl walked towards Alex, everyone at the table—except for Meredith—awkwardly watching. "I was on my way out, and then I saw these cheeks. So cute."

Zola babbles as the woman walks towards her.

"Oh!" Meredith turned around quickly, grabbing Zola from the high chair. "We don't touch the baby because we don't know where those hands have been."

"Alex does," April laughs.

Charlotte hides her laugh behind her cup of coffee, which was almost all gone.

"Okay, so, um, I have a meeting with Owen, so I'm off," Meredith grabs her bag, Zola resting in her arms. "Party is at eight. Don't be late."

"I got twenty minutes before work. You wanna, you know?" Alex whispered in the girls ear.

"Yeah."

"Good. Come on," Alex leads her out of the kitchen and up the steps.

"Round two," Jackson yells after them, Charlotte walking towards the sink.

"Oh, we need to move," April shook her head in disgust.

"Do we?" Jackson smirks and picks the newspaper up.

"Yes, actually," April blinked at Jackson's smirk.

"I've only been saying this for.. I don't know, months now," Charlotte threw her hands up after sitting her empty coffee cup in the sink.

"Lets look for one together. It'll save money."

"That was the plan all along, sweetheart," Charlotte makes her way out of the kitchen and up the steps to get read for work as April stands in the kitchen with flushed cheeks.

❄️

"What about Ortho?" Cristina looked up from her phone. "Callie would be a great mentor."

"No. That is my specialty," Charlotte leans back in the chair at the nurses station. "And she is a good mentor."

"She's also your best friend," Cristina narrows her eyes and shakes her head.

The three stood at the nurses station, wasting time as they helped Meredith pick a specialty. Per Owen's request.

"I don't even like bones," Meredith shook her head.

"Oncology," Cristina suggested.

"Depressing," The other two answered at the same time.

"Trauma."

"I've had enough trauma for one lifetime," Meredith expressed.

"Well," Cristina shrugged.

"Just pick a damn specialty!" Charlotte throws her head back with frustration. "This decision is important. This is going to be your specialty for the rest of your career. Just go with General. It is your specialty, and it has been since I've known you. We all know you want it."

"Did.. did Charlotte just give helpful advice that had nothing to do with sex?" Cristina tilts her head with amusement. "Reds got a hold on you!"

"Fuck off," Charlotte gives Cristina the middle finger as Alex approaches them with a scan.

"Check it," Alex shows Cristina. "Fence guy—hearts the size of a football."

"From hitting a fence?" Charlotte leaned over the counter, no longer in the chair.

"From being impaled in a fence," Cristina corrected.

"Don't worry, Yang. I'll send you pics from the surgery," Alex laughs as he hurries off.

"Ass!" Charlotte yelled, her hands cupped around her mouth to make her voice louder.

"Hey, is it too late for me to pick Cardio?" Meredith got excited.

"Yes. Cardio's mine," Cristina walked off as Callie paged Charlotte.

"Gotta go, good luck on picking a specialty though."

❄️

"Look, this one has a patio and a garage," April tilts the paper towards Charlotte so she can get a better look at the apartment.

"I like that one," Charlotte smiled, locking eyes with April for a second before turning to another apartment they'd looked at earlier. "But this one has hardwood floors, a washer and a dryer."

"You sure you guys want to move?" Jackson asked, raiding the fridge in the break room.

"Aww, are you gonna miss us?" Charlotte pushes her bottom lip out.

"Yes, we are sure," April laughed. "Meredith and Derek have a baby, and you're living with your ex. We're moving."

"I'll move," Alex inserted himself into the conversation as he entered the break room—making a b-line for the fridge. "Zola's killing my game. Every girl I bring home wants a baby the minute they see her."

Charlotte and April laugh, "No. There isn't an invite to you. It's Jackson, April and I."

"We are trying to get away from you," April looked back at the paper.

"Alright, then you and me," Alex leans against the counter, eating a casserole. "You don't want to live with Mary Poppins and her girlfriend."

"We aren't dating!" Both women announce together.

"No, April cooks, Charlotte cleans—"

"We're also your friends," April leans her head forward to look at the man who was now sitting beside Charlotte.

"Hey!" Alex complains as Meredith grabs the glass dish from his hands.

"I need food for Zola's party," Meredith explained. "I thought I was gonna have time to go to the store, but Richards ten thousandth surgery is gonna take forever. You think Teddy's gonna care if I take some of her widow casserole?"

"No. Go for it," Cristina says as she joins the conversation as well, Alex taking the last chair at the small table.

"Great, now the whole family is here. It's like a family reunion," Charlotte sighs, April's hand rubbing her back.

"You know what?" Cristina puts the dish she was carrying in Meredith's hands, "Take this one, too. It's turkey tetrazzini."

"Ooh, yum."

Cristina looks at Alex, "You and, um, McQueen finally find a patient who's willing to let you operate on them?"

"Bite my ass," Alex rolled his eyes.

"I'd pay to see that," Charlotte raises her brows. "Oh, Mer, proctology."

"There's your specialty," Cristina points her hand in Alex's direction. "Explore the mysteries of the butt."

"Why aren't you doing General just like your mom? It's a no brainer," April asked, completely left out of the conversation from earlier.

"And good marketing," Alex points out. "I mean, people hear the name 'Grey' they know they're getting quality."

"No you can't win following in the footsteps of a phenom," Jack said, mouth full.

"Said the lame, mediocre grandson of Harper Avery," Cristina sips on the coffee she'd just made.

Charlotte laughed, "True."

"What do you know? Your— never mind."

The brunette's demeanor changes, and she swallows the lump forming in her throat. "I have to go— check on my patients."

With that, the woman left the break room, the air stiffening by the second.

Everyone knew about her parents. I mean, they would've visited if they were still alive. So it was safe for them to assume they weren't around anymore. But April was the only one who really knew about it.

And Charlotte wanted to keep it that way.

❄️

The next time she sees her roommates to be, is at Zola's party. The three got slammed with their different specialties, hadn't had any time to talk.

Charlotte drank soda out of a red solo cup as Meredith approached the trio with Zola wrapped in her arms.

"Hello birthday girl," Charlotte smiled widely at the baby.

"Look who didn't just wake up, huh?" Jackson said in a low voice.

"Look at you," April giggles. "You look so beautiful. Look at that. Ooh."

Charlotte watches April carefully, and if she wasn't a virgin, she would have slept with her then.