"I don't like this one."

"Why?" Addison asks with a frown. Her gaze is focused on the photograph in an apartment magazine.

"Well, because it doesn't have natural light. Didn't you notice how cold it was when we walked into the house?" Maddox tries to reason, walking down the hallway with her hands pointing at the artificial lights. "Really?" she adds when Addison simply stares at her with a stunned gesture. "Is it only us Latinos who care about natural light? Es que parece que os gusta desaprovechar recursos. Podríamos secar la ropa al sol, de forma natural, en lugar de usar la secadora; pero no, no os preocupáis por eso."

"I didn't understand any of that."

Maddox wrinkles her nose, aware that she's coming out with the same gesture as her mother: speaking Spanish when she gets angry. The speed of the language and the girl's Cuban accent don't help, and Addison, completely unfamiliar with Spanish except for a couple of words, can understand that Maddox doesn't want that apartment, period. "I'm sorry, love. I meant to say that I prefer another one. For example, this one," the brunette points to a photo two pages further back, marked with a big 'X'. "It's not too far from the hospital, it has enough room for both of us, and the owner lets us do whatever renovations we want as long as we don't touch the structure. Plus, it's an option I could bring some money to," Maddox mumbles, sipping some coffee.

"Not bad," Addison says after a silence. "I liked it when we went to see it."

Maddox knows she only has to push her buttons —and her real buttons— a little to convince her, so she doesn't hold back. "Think about it —if we move in by the end of the week, in two weeks we'll be living together. I'll promise to make you breakfast and take it to bed whenever I'm not working in the morning," Maddox promises, and Addison's face grows softer. She hugs her from the back and squeezes her a little in affection. Then, she reaches up to her ear. "I promise I'll be good."

Addison swallows and clears her throat, turning around to make sure no one has heard her. "You're going to do this to me here in the hospital?"

"I'm going to do it to you wherever you want," Maddox murmurs close to her lips, sealing her words with a kiss. She sews her hands around her waist and pulls her to her, forgetting about the cup of coffee she has previously rested on the counter.

"Good morning," says a voice behind their backs slowly. Maddox quickly uncurls her arms from Addison's body, who preens her bangs so as not to look Bailey in the eye. "I hope you can keep your hands somewhere else while you're not operating. Easton, downstairs. The interns are waiting for you. Dr. Montgomery, the Chief wants to see you. Something about your placement at Seattle Grace. I'll see you later," Bailey says goodbye with her typical stare, looking them up and down at length in an attempt to intimidate them.

And she succeeds, as they wave goodbye and don't see each other again until the end of the day.

Things have changed a lot from how they were seventeen days ago. After the breakup of Cristina's engagement, things have changed even if from an outside perspective it is not seen. Maddox has adopted a more serious, more committed point of view, aware that things don't last forever and that at any moment everything can end —especially after taking Callie's advice into consideration. Her recommendations for Cristina's vows may not have paid off, but she certainly planted seeds in Maddox and Addison's relationship, and they have blossomed.

Taking advantage of Meredith and Cristina going to Hawaii to take advantage of the latter's honeymoon, Maddox took her allotted vacation with Addison. They took a short drive to the Californian coast, where Addison made up for some lost time with her friends in Los Angeles. Maddox learned later that day, while brushing off sand in the hotel room shower, that Addison had refused to move to her friend's private beachside clinic in Santa Monica. Maddox would like to have pressed the issue some more, but Addison quickly switched to what she was in the mood for dinner, so the brunette didn't have a chance.

After returning from their trip to the west coast, Maddox proposed the same thing Callie had already repeated to her on a couple of occasions —even via instant message, the orthopedic surgeon had urged her to do, and Maddox couldn't help but think, albeit with a goofy grin, that Callie and Addison had definitely talked about it before. "Come live with me," Maddox had blurted out, lying on her back in Addison's room. At the surprise on her face, Maddox quickly sat up. "Not to Meredith's, I mean. Something for you and me. Where we can have some more privacy and you don't have to break into your house with a metal card. A key," the brunette blurted out quickly, losing her breath as she said nonsense.

"A key," Addison repeated, trying to hold back laughter.

"Don't laugh at me," Addison let out a laugh, and Maddox hit her with the pillow she was leaning against. "What? Do I need to kneel to ask you to move in with me? Cause I'm not doing that."

"No," Addison shook her head, looking at her fondly. "You don't need to do that. I would like that. Coming home to you would be nice."

Maddox gave a resounding clap. "Then it's settled! We'll go apartment hunting tomorrow. I still have ten days off, that'll be enough, right?"

"Yeah," Addison played it down, grabbing Maddox's shirt and pulling her to herself. "Now come here."

Maddox closes her eyes softly as she remembers what followed next. She can't help it, as she still finds it hard to believe that she's with Addison, that her feelings were reciprocated, and that they're about to move in together. It's too good to be real, as much as Maddox has learned to be optimistic over time.

"Mads!" Meredith's voice welcomes her from the front desk. They melt into a short hug, because it's been over two weeks since they've seen each other.

"Hey, you," Cristina raises her hand for a high-five, and Maddox reciprocates. "How was Hawaii?"

"It wasn't the same as cutting someone open when you've had a bad day, but it wasn't bad," Cristina replies.

"She's kidding," Meredith interjects. "You should've seen her face when we rented jet skis."

"Okay, that was pretty great," Cristina acknowledges. "How was house hunting with Satan?"

"Cristina!" Meredith chides her.

"Oh, right. You told me to only use the name when Maddox wasn't listening."

"She's kidding again," Maddox replies for Meredith, as she knew she was going to say it. "I hope so, anyway. We're still deciding between three flats, but I think we have it pretty close. How are things between you and Derek?"

Meredith's face falls but then momentarily recovers. "Haven't seen him since D-Day."

"That's what we're calling it now?" Maddox wrinkles her nose. "I thought we settled it on Shark Week."

"Uh, hi," Cristina catches their eyes, incredulous. "I'm right here."

"We know," the two other girls reply at the same time, sharing a giggle. Cristina rolls her eyes but says nothing more, and that way all three know it's all right. That's Cristina: she needs a little shock and dark humor to get through things. "So, your birthday is in ten days," Meredith begins, turning to Maddox. "Anything special you want to do?"

"Our little girl grows up," Cristina pretends to wipe away a tear.

"Shut up. I'm only turning twenty-five, you ancient ladies. Anything that involves getting drunk at Joe's will be a good plan. Feel free to tell whoever you want that the first round is on me."

"Oh, we're feeling generous, are we? I'd have to thank Satan for that," Cristina mentions, moving forward at last. "Have I mentioned how tired I am of the new interns already?"

"You haven't met them yet."

"Exactly," Cristina snorts. "That's unfair! I haven't reached my full potential yet. I should be the one learning. I should be the one the attendings are tough on, not those freshly graduated morons."

"I was a freshly graduated moron," Maddox frowns.

"Obviously not you, honey," Cristina rejects with a wave of her hand. "We're the golden generation. Let me rephrase that: we're the golden trio."

"As in Harry Potter?" Meredith interjects.

"No. As in we are three young, successful ladies. Our careers will prosper soon. Let's imagine," Cristina curls both arms around Maddox and Meredith's shoulders. "There are only a few years left to choose our specialty. We have years to train to be the best. I know I'm the best at cardio, but I can recognize that Maddox is very good at neuro."

"Who said I'll choose neuro?"

"You won't?" Cristina asks, and her eyebrows furrow in disappointment. "Well, what are you going to choose, then? Don't tell me orthopedics."

"I like peds. Kids are more considerate, polite and less whiny than most adults. They can be bribed with a lollipop. Those little ones deserve respect and someone who is dedicated to them."

The Asian woman slams on the brakes, Meredith colliding with her instantly. She looks at the younger one intently, blinking once. "Too soft. I should've known better."

"About time," Alex Karev says when he sees them coming. The boy holds out his arm with a clenched fist for Maddox to respond, which she does. He seems to ignore the others. "How was house hunting with Satan?"

"That's what I said!" Cristina interjects.

"Seriously, stop calling her that. I stay out of your business and I have plenty of reasons not to do so, boy who fell for the faceless patient, girl who got stood up at the altar and Meredith."

"I guess your relationship is happier than ever," Alex assumes sardonically, and Maddox just rolls her eyes. "The new interns should be arriving any minute now —anybody else feeling like crap already?" Cristina raises her hand at the same time as Alex as Meredith shakes her head.

"Nancy Walters, 34 years old, complete amputation, as you can see," Maddox begins. Her interns, three girls and a boy, probably all older than her, listen with eyes wide. "She's thirty-five weeks pregnant, her due date is close, so we have to keep an eye on the baby, too. You'll find it's easy to induce labor for the baby's safety when trauma occurs," the girl delicately applies gel to her notorious belly and sends her a gentle smile in apology. "I assume you've all done ultrasounds before, but just in case: here you can see the fetus. The heartbeat is normal, vitals are normal and there is nothing ruptured in the patient's uterus, so all is well with her kid. She has had some contractions but so far everything is stable. As for her arm, we're still waiting for someone to bring it to the hospital," Maddox adds more quietly, and the interns nod. "As soon as that happens, we'll proceed to clean the arm and hopefully Dr. Sloan, whom you'll meet very soon, will be able to reattach it."

"It's not nice to doubt my abilities, Dr. Easton," a deep voice enters the room, and just by its mocking tone, Maddox knows that Mark Sloan has arrived. Sure enough, with a small smirk and his hands in his pockets, the plastic surgeon introduces himself. "Hello, Nancy. I'm Dr. Sloan. Mind if I take a look?" Mark does as promised under the watchful eyes of the interns, and Maddox wonders if any of them will have the same luck she's had engaging with the attending like that. "With antibiotics and a sterile, moist dressing we have a chance of a good recovery. Do we have the arm?"

"They're looking for it."

Nancy rolls around on the gurney. "My baby doesn't have a father. He's already lost two arms. So he really needs me to have an arm."

Mark looks up, and Maddox sees vulnerability in his eyes. "Get me that arm."

"On it," Maddox promises. Then she turns to her interns and urges them out of the trauma room. "Come on, you heard the doctor. We're going back to the ER until someone finds that damn arm. Ask anyone, and I repeat, anyone who might have seen the arm or might have it. Nurses, ambulance drivers, other patients who might have seen it. I'll show you the way."

"Is it normal for you guys to look for an arm?" One of the interns asks, and on her face Maddox can see the deep surprise and curiosity.

"Not really, you came in on the real good day. Most days you won't see anything. Your chances of seeing cases where surgery is urgent are slim, so your chances of scrubbing in your first few days are close to zero. You are interns, don't expect people to trust you so easily. You're going to be cleaning cuts, changing towels and sheets, and drawing blood. I know it's not the most exciting thing, but you're expected to do it by taking good care of the patient and with a smile for those who need it."

"Did you see anything that exciting on your first day?"

Maddox reconsiders. "Well, there's a tradition here. The most promising intern gets to scrub in the first few days around here. I got a chance to do an appendectomy by myself, guided by one of the best attendings, of course. Oh, and I got to do open heart surgery stuck in an elevator."

"No way," another girl looks impressed. "Are you the guy in the elevator?"

"Why does everyone keep saying it was a guy?" Maddox whispers to herself. "I'm not a dude, but I appreciate the enthusiasm."

"Dude, I can't believe it. We have the best resident."

"Stop sucking up and find the arm. Take it straight to the trauma room in case you find it before I do. Pay attention to your pagers and help whoever tells you to. Dr. Torres is the chief resident, so ultimately you belong to her. Do me a favor and outsmart on my friends' interns, will you?" Maddox winks at them and they run off excitedly.

With a sigh, Maddox leaves the emergency room. The day is going well: her interns don't seem incompetent at all, they even seem nice and appreciative of her exploits. She may even be sharing shifts with them next year, so it's in both parties' best interest to get along. Which can't be said for Izzie or Alex with their interns: the former already turns out to be a failure and a fraud among her students, and Alex barely pays them any attention, forcing them to turn away when a patient enters the room. At least it's not Cristina, thinks Maddox, who numbers her interns.

She meets the rest of the residents —it feels good to say residents, Maddox raises her chin a little even when she thinks about it— in the cafeteria. She orders a soda and sits at the fifth seat in the table. It's still strange meeting everyone except George. "Having a great day, I see," she comments as soon as she sits down.

"I hate my life," Izzie sentences. "My morning has consisted of curing a roadkill deer."

"Was it saved?" asks Meredith.

Izzie nods as she sips her water. "At least I'm not starting my residency year with a dead patient on the table."

"Too bad," Alex interjects. "Deer meat is tasty."

Cristina lets out a laugh and Izzie glares at the boy. "Evil."

"Having George as my intern is weird," Meredith says. "He seems sad and kind of resented."

"Has every reason to be," Cristina nods. "At least he's not any of my stupid interns. Now I feel what Bailey must've felt."

"She numbers her interns because she doesn't even bother to learn their names. By the way, did I tell you that my half sister is here and she happens to be one of Cristina's interns? I think she called her number two."

Maddox has trouble swallowing her soda. "Your sister? I didn't know Molly had gotten into the Seattle Grace program, too."

"Oh, no, no. Not Molly. She says her name is Lexie," Meredith clarifies, and Maddox can't tell if she's really bothered by this Lexie's existence or if she's willing to ignore her until she disappears. "Oh, and she also hit on Derek at Joe's bar. He called her the bar girl. I'm the bar girl," okay, yes, Maddox can definitely now have a formed idea about Meredith's opinion of her sister. "Look, there she is. Doe-eyed girl, short brunette hair at twelve o'clock."

Maddox turns, curious, and her eyes can't believe what she's seeing. Her face is definitely familiar, and the most recent memory she has of the girl is the senior send-off from med school, at a frat party of which Maddox remembers nothing else except Lexie's insistence on drinking tequila and trying to play beer-pong at the same time. "This can't be true."

"That's exactly what I think," Meredith huffs.

"No, I don't mean that. I know that girl. I know your sister."

The four residents instantly raise their heads, suddenly interested. "What?"

"I met her at Harvard during my last year there. She approached me at a party some frat boys threw at the beginning of the year, saying that she knew me from some classes and that she'd been trying to gain some courage to talk to me for days."

"Chick was popular," Alex comments.

"It was hard not being popular on Harvard. I had straight A's, I was part of the university biology group and everyone knew me because I got in years before the rest of the students," Maddox explains, almost embarrassed. "We overlapped in some of the classes during senior year because Lexie also got in before the rest. She said she skipped a grade in high school and has a photographic memory, so she's pretty good. She was nice and kind of awkward socially, I guess because she wasn't around people her own age, but she was a good kid."

"Well, she's about to be a pain in the ass," Cristina sentences. "Oh, she's coming."

Maddox, who has her back to Lexie's path, composes a grimace on her face. It's not that she's not happy to see her, but she knows that if Meredith isn't happy with her presence they're not going to have much of a chance of including her in the group. Besides, at Harvard they didn't even get to be good friends; maybe more than acquaintances, they studied together sometime when Lexie showed why she was one of the youngest at Harvard, and they even went to parties together, but Maddox came to feel it was because Lexie didn't have too many friends there.

"Hey, uh, Dr. Shepherd said the surgery is happening in the next minutes," Lexie turns to Cristina.

Cristina, face expressionless, looks back at her. Knowing her as she does, Maddox knows the girl is about to cause trouble. "Okay, two. Maddox, were you interested in scrubbing in? I thought I heard you were."

"I hate you," Maddox vocalizes as she covers her face with her hand.

Cristina sends her a fake smile at the same time as Lexie turns to look at Maddox, who raises her eyes. "Oh, my God. I can't believe this. Maddox. You're Maddox Easton," Lexie smiles broadly, impressed in a good way.

"Hey, Lexie."

Lexie wraps a quick hug around Maddox, who stiffens at the show of affection. The looks of derision don't go missing for the brunette. "I can't believe you're here, too! I always knew you'd come far. Seattle Grace, wow. Not for nothing you were Mad Max!"

Maddox blushes profusely. "Mad Max?" Alex is no slouch in mocking her.

"She was amazing," Lexie explains, excited. Perhaps it's new to her that, all of a sudden, the residents have an interest in what she has to say. "She nailed every test, aced every biology debate. She even made it to the nationals. Everyone knew her at college. She was a genius, so I called her Mad Max."

"Wow, I think we should carry on the legacy," Cristina sips her soda, holding in her laughter.

Meredith is the only one who doesn't say anything, something that doesn't go unnoticed in Maddox's eyes. "Excuse us for a second," Maddox sends them a fake smile as she leads Lexie away from the scene. "What are you doing here? You could have told me you were coming to Seattle Grace."

"Up until a few months ago I was going to Mass Gen. Seattle Grace wasn't even in my plans. But when my mother died I found out I had a half sister. Meredith Grey," Lexie explains. "I wanted to meet her. After mom died and my dad started drinking so much he didn't know what year he was in, and with Molly away, all I had left was Meredith. I thought I might get to meet her. Oh, am I embarrassing you in front of your friends?"

"No, it's not that. It was a surprise, that's all. I didn't know Meredith had a half sister coming here. A heads up would have been nice, I guess."

"I didn't know I had a sister here either. And I could've called, but I didn't know you were here. We lost touch after you graduated, so I didn't think it would matter if I called and said I'd be in your city, too. I left Mass Gen and now she hates me."

"Mer doesn't hate you."

"Mer?" asks Lexie tentatively. "You're friends with my sister?"

"She was the first person I met here a year ago. We've been through some pretty rough stuff together, so I'd say she's one of my best friends. Look, Lexie, she's a good person. She's nice and kind, but she's been through a lot, especially with your dad, so she'll need time. But she doesn't hate you. She knows you're not guilty of anything. Just give her time," Maddox notices how Lexie's face falls, somewhat disappointed, so she taps her on the arm. "Welcome to Seattle Grace. Now go scrub in with Cristina."

"Thank you," Lexie smiles.

"Mad Max! Come here, your ice is melting!" Alex's voice snaps her out of her funk, and when she turns around, Izzie, Cristina and himself explode with laughter. Beside her, Lexie smiles a nervous grin.

"You're done," Maddox mutters.

"I'm so sorry about that. See you!"

Just as Cristina stands up to go to the OR, Derek appears through the cafeteria door. He sets his gaze on the group of friends, so Maddox assumes he's looking for Cristina, but no, he stops next to her. "Hey, Maddox. Would you like to have a drink with me tonight?"

"Everybody leave me alone!" the brunette shouts as she storms out of the cafeteria.

hey!! i kind of reconnected again with grey's so it's been fun to write about them again. i thought i might some notes after the chapters to chat with you guys.

maddox's specialty is definitely settled in my mind, but I'd like to hear your thoughts! what do you think she'll choose in the end? hope you liked the chapter! :)