At the medical center.
Adam was loving the chaos—Christina wasn't jealous over Burke but had turned into a vinegar jar over Meredith. Free entertainment!
Then his eyes narrowed. The surgical chief was heading his way, towing Meredith's mysterious bestie along.
"Some serious clout here," Adam clocked it instantly.
Getting in outside the usual intern hiring window already screamed connections. Now, with the chief personally escorting her straight to him? This wasn't your average backdoor pass—it had to be at least senior board member-level juice.
"Dr. Duncan," the chief said, all smiles as he approached. "I hear you've been swamped lately—so busy your interns can't even join the Surgical Holy Grail showdown.
This is Sadie, Meredith's good friend and a solid intern. She's been working in the morgue for over a year since graduating, racking up some solid experience. What do you say—take her under your wing? Maybe she can help with some of the grunt work?"
Sadie flashed Adam a flirty grin.
"Well, since it's you asking, Chief, and she's Meredith's pal," Adam said with a chuckle, "I'm happy to give her a shot. Mind if I ask her a few questions, though? I don't know much about her yet."
"Go right ahead," the chief said, waving a hand like, No need to hold back for me.
"Sadie, how do you handle a pulmonary embolism?" Adam asked, smiling at the woman Meredith nicknamed "Demon."
"…" Demon Sadie blanked out.
"Okay, that's a bit advanced," Adam laughed. "That's more for a top-tier resident. You and Meredith are from the same year, but you haven't interned yet… Let's try something simpler. How would you do an appendectomy?"
"Uh… mark the incision… about a third of the way from the anterior superior iliac spine to the navel… follow the colon to find the appendix…" Sadie stumbled through it, wilting under Adam's grin and the chief's silent stare-at-the-floor routine. She couldn't even muster a smile anymore.
It's the easiest surgery out there—something a decent surgical intern could tackle right off the bat. And she still couldn't nail it.
Straight-up academic disaster. Without some connection bonus points to average things out, "solid intern" was a stretch. No wonder she'd been stuck in the morgue for over a year—corpses don't talk back when you butcher them! 😅
But even then, if Demon Sadie were actually good, a year of morgue dissections should've made her sharper than most interns. Nope. That said it all.
"How about Meredith takes her for a spin first?" Adam suggested politely to the chief.
"Sounds good to me," the chief nodded without missing a beat. "Sadie, go find Dr. Grey."
Sadie's face stiffened as she shuffled off.
"Chief, I thought we were gunning for the top teaching hospital in the country?" Adam teased.
"Ugh," the chief sighed. "Sadie's dad… Just pretend she's not here, okay?"
Adam nodded, letting it slide. Sitting in the chief's chair wasn't easy—some favors you can't just dodge.
"Heard Demon Sadie tried to join your interns and got shot down?" Christina swooped in minutes later, her little eyes gleaming with glee.
"Don't come fishing for fun here," Adam quipped. "If she bugs you that much, go confront her—give her a piece of your mind!"
"Why would I bother?" Christina huffed, all tough. "Just 'cause she and Meredith giggle at me like weirdos?"
"Adam," Meredith cut in, strolling over. "Sadie's cool—can you give her another chance?"
"Which part?" Adam grinned. "If it's about her skills, sure, if she's got the chops, I'll take her. But if it's her team sport talents, sorry—you know my rules."
"…" Meredith froze.
"No way!" Christina caught her bestie's look, flashing back to Adam's jabs about Meredith's Euro trip. Her eyes widened. "Meredith, you two didn't actually sleep your way across Europe, did you?"
"No! What?! Stop spouting nonsense!" Meredith lunged to shut her up.
"Not true?" Adam gave her a better-come-clean look.
"…What's wrong with you guys?" Meredith snapped, flustered. "Why dig up old stuff? Who hasn't been young?"
"Young, sure, but not that young," Christina deadpanned.
Normally, she'd save face for her bestie—those secrets stayed for private chats. But now, with her spot usurped and no more BFF pillow talk, all bets were off.
"Ugh," Adam sighed dramatically.
"Now what?" Meredith groaned, on the edge.
"Just feeling sentimental," Adam said with a mock sigh. "You know I've got that HD photographic memory—can spot family resemblance from facial features, right?"
"Why bring that up now?" Meredith's stomach dropped.
Christina gawked at Adam's mouth, hyped and nervous all at once.
"That skill's about to go kaput," Adam said, dead serious. "If everyone's 'young' like you."
"Pfft!" Christina burst out laughing.
"Adam Duncan!!!" Meredith nearly exploded.
It was a sneaky jab at her "100 Days Across Europe" escapades. She'd heard digs like that before—tailored for girls like her. Her comeback? "There's zero medical proof for that!"
"Sorry," Adam said, startled she was actually about to lose it, and quickly apologized.
Meredith was fine, really. The real issue? If this hit Shepherd's ears, it'd get messy.
She was a legendary leading lady—people could hurl the nastiest insults right to her face, "slut," "bitch," whatever, and she'd forgive them later. For someone with a 100% pants-dropping drunk streak, it was old news. She even mocked herself about it all the time.
Kinda like Penny after hooking up with Raj—self-destruct mode activated. She told Amy, who'd rushed to support her, they should hit a spot "where no one's seen her naked," adding, "but we'd have to drive a while."
Adam's roundabout tease was tame by comparison—not even that sharp.
Emmm.
Now Adam realized Meredith didn't just have that skill—she'd unlocked a new one: 100 Days, One Dream Across Europe—Earning a Name for Many a Thin Romance!
Penny? A lightweight next to her. Meredith could take on ten Pennys and win!
Meredith, you absolute legend! 🌟
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(Chapter End)