Chapter Text
April 17, 1985
Five-year-old Meredith Grey sits quietly in the backseat of the car. She hugs her teddy bear close to her chest. Her mom said they were going on a trip, but Meredith is smart, she knows that only her stuff has been packed and put in the trunk of the car.
An hour passes before they arrive at the airport, Meredith follows Ellis through the airport, they don't go to the normal terminals. They walk for what feels like hours to the young girl before finally arriving at a private terminal. Two people are waiting when they get there. Meredith tries to hide behind her mother, but Ellis all but shoves her towards the unknown couple.
"Mommy, no!" Meredith screams, clinging to her mother's leg.
"Meredith, what have I said about crying? Now, let go of my leg. You're going to go with The Captain and Bizzy, and you're going to do it quietly." Ellis reprimands, Meredith lets go of her mother's leg and slowly walks over to the couple, The Captain and Bizzy. She hugs her teddy bear close to her chest again.
When she turns back around, Ellis is gone. Meredith looks up at the man and woman.
"Am I going to live with you now?" Meredith asks quietly, even though she already knows the answer.
"Yes, sweetheart. You're going to come live with us in Connecticut. You'll have an older brother named Archer, who's seventeen, and an older sister named Addison, who's fourteen. They're both so excited to meet you, Meredith." The woman, Bizzy, explains gently. Meredith just nods and follows them onto the plane.
Five hours later, Meredith is staring up at what can only be described as a mansion. In her left arm, she has her teddy bear clutched tightly to her chest, in her right hand she holds onto Bizzy's hand just as tightly. Bizzy leads her inside and into the main room. Archer and Addison are waiting for them, both of them smile kindly at Meredith, making her feel more at ease.
"Hi, Meredith! I'm Addison, how about I give you a tour of the house and show you to your room?" Addison asks, Meredith nods, letting go of Bizzy's hand to take Addison's instead.
Addison shows Meredith the whole house, including the backyard where they have a pool. They see the bedrooms last.
"This is your room, Meredith. It's not decorated yet, but Bizzy said we can do that this week. My room is right across the hall if you need anything, Archer's room is next to mine, and The Captain and Bizzy's room is at the end of the hallway. We can unpack your stuff after dinner, okay?" Addison asks, looking down at her new sister. Meredith nods, thanking her quietly.
~••~
August 25, 1989
Nine-year-old Meredith Forbes-Montgomery holds onto eighteen-year-old Addison Forbes-Montgomery's hand. Addison is leaving for college today, and Meredith doesn't want to say goodbye to her big sister. In the past four years, the two girls have grown attached at the hip.
Where Addison went, she brought Meredith along with her. Football games, trips to the mall with her friends, and if Addison had a sleepover she and her friends made sure to include Meredith in some form or another. Meredith is a quiet child and she's come to rely on Addison talking for her. That's going to have to change.
"Do you have to go, Addie?" Meredith asks quietly.
"I'm sorry, sweet pea, but I'll be back to visit in a few weeks, and Archer's around a lot more these days." Addison apologizes, leaning down and kissing her baby sister on the forehead.
"You promise?"
"I promise."
Addison holds out her pinky finger and Meredith links hers with Addison's.
"I love you, Addie."
"I love you too, Meri."
~••~
May 30, 1995
Fifteen-year-old Meredith Forbes-Montgomery shifts anxiously as she stands in line with the rest of her graduating class. She's the youngest student by three years, but that's what happens when you skip seventh, ninth, and tenth grade. It wasn't easy being the youngest and smartest in school, but it didn't matter anymore because she was finally graduating and she was finally on her way to following in Addison's footsteps of becoming a doctor.
Half an hour later Meredith is taking her seat in the gymnasium and waiting for her name to be called as valedictorian. When her name is announced, she makes her way up on stage and takes her place at the stadium. Her eyes scan the crowd for her family and she relaxes when she finally finds them.
"Hi, everyone. I've spent a lot of time trying to figure out what exactly I wanted to say today. I thought I'd start by sharing a bit about myself. My name is Meredith Catherine Forbes-Montgomery, most of you probably recognize my last name because you either know one of my older siblings or my parents. I'm fifteen years old and no this isn't some kind of joke, I've just skipped three grades. I want to thank my parents for giving me every opportunity that I've had so far in my life, without them I don't know where I'd be. Thank you to my brother Archer for always encouraging me and making me smile when I felt like it was all too much, and I want to especially thank my sister Addison, who has been my best friend since the day our parents adopted me. She's been by my side through everything. To my fellow graduates, I don't know what's happening next, but I do know that we will all make it through. We survived high school, which means that anything is possible. Always shoot for the stars. Thank you."
Meredith ends her speech and heads back to her seat. The rest of her high school graduation goes by in a blur of cheers and tears.
~••~
September 12, 2005
Twenty-five-year-old Meredith Grey looks around the house that she has no recollection of ever living in, but her biological mom had nobody else to leave it to before being moved into a long-term care facility, or at least that's what The Captain and Bizzy told her when they gave her the keys a week ago.
Tomorrow is her first day of internship at Seattle Grace Hospital and she is incredibly excited, yet incredibly nervous. She's decided to use her birth name of Grey here in Seattle because she doesn't want anyone to hear her last name and think that they have some sort of way to get close to her sister. Addison is now a big-shot doctor running a practice in New York as a double board-certified OB/GYN, sub-specializing in maternal-fetal medicine /fetal surgery, a neonatal surgeon, and a medical geneticist. Meredith hopes that she can be half the surgeon that her older sister is.
When Meredith is done unpacking, she decides to drive to the hospital, seeing as she'll be spending at least the next year there. She hums along to the radio softly as she drives, taking in her surroundings. The early fall drizzle of Seattle is oddly relaxing to her. She pulls into the parking lot of a bar across the street from SGH, figuring she'll probably be spending lots of time here. The Emerald City Bar. Catchy.
As Meredith walks inside, she can't help but smile, this is the start to the rest of her life.