"Leven. What a surprise."

Lennox Phoenix sits up in his newly-prescribed wheelchair and adjusts the nasal cannula connected to his oxygen tank.

"Hello, Lennox." I flash a half-smile before sitting down myself. "How are you?"

"I'm doing well, thank you for asking. And you?"

"Oh, I'm alright. Good, even."

After the near-death incident at the hospital, I realized I can't go about the rest of my life treating him like a stranger. So we might as well get along with each other.

"I heard Derek visits you quite often." My fingers delicately stir the stick in my mug. "Is he fun to have around?"

"Oh, yes. He always has stories to tell." He folds a blanket over his legs. "But it's not as nice as seeing you here and actually talking to me."

I run my palms over the tops of my jeans. "Well, I can't promise I'll be here as often as I'd like. . .but I'll try my best."

"That's all I can ask for, Leven."

Morning briefing of the patients goes by quickly, and I meet up with Meredith Cristina just outside the door.

"He found out about the apartment." Cristina stuffs a third of a granola bar into her mouth. "You know, he's acting like I committed a crime. Like my apartment is full of stolen goods."

"Well, we've never come over, so —"

"My apartment isn't full of stolen goods!"

A few nurses and doctors here and there glance in our direction after her sudden outburst, but we go about our pathway.

"He's acting like I kept my apartment to hide stolen goods so I can do illegal transactions for money."

"Are you sure he's not just acting like you lied about moving in?" Meredith exclaims from pent-up frustration.

In reply, her face sours. "Okay, what's wrong with you?"

"My mommy's a filthy whore."

"No questions there."

For the first time since giving birth, Dr. Bailey is back at the hospital with her baby boy, William George Bailey-Jones.

"Invasive non-cell. With a history of C.O.P.D.."

I glance back to see a tall, young, absolutely handsome man standing behind me.

"That guy's pretty much a goner, huh?"

"Huh." My gaze rakes his figure in an obvious manner. "Lacks sensitivity, knows how to read. . .can I help you?"

He clears his throat. "Oh, I'm just visiting some. . .friends. It's only my first day, and I'm confounded by all the rain."

"Pretty different from New York, isn't it?"

"How did you —"

"People from New York hate any other place." I move to the other side of the nurses' station, only to be followed by the stranger. "Takes one to know one."

"All this rain. . .it makes me want to stay in bed alright."

"Pillow talk, already? Lacks subtlety as well." I file away the rest of the surgical cases.

"Subtlety has never been my strong suit." His elbow rests against the countertop. "So, do you ever go out with coworkers?"

"Never have and never will."

"Then I am so glad that I don't work here."

"Has no one told you a hospital's one of the worst places to hit on someone?"

"Would it be wrong to hit on you?"

"Leven Phoenix."

"Mark —"

The head of neurosurgery — who was nowhere near the nurses' station — punches the stranger across his jaw, to which he collapses to the floor.

"Dr. Shepherd, what was that for?"

"Mark Sloan. The guy who ruined my marriage."

While Derek, his wife, and the chief confine themselves into a conference room, I take Mark Sloan to treat his cut.

"So, you're not Derek's lusty intern?"

"No. That would be Meredith Grey."

"Which would make you the Rising Phoenix."

My brows narrow. "The Rising Phoenix? I haven't heard that name since. . ."

"Derek wasn't your father's only friend." He holds the q-tip gauze against the cut on his cheek, dabbing and soaking the blood. "Lennox always loved talking about his daughter. How terrific of a doctor she would become."

"How wonderful."

"It's funny."

"What is?"

"Derek walked in on me naked with his wife. . .in the throes. And he just turned around and walked away."

He turns his face away from the q-tip, looking at me in fascination.

"On the other hand, he sees me so much as talking to you. . .and I'm on the ground bleeding. It's interesting, don't you think?"

"No, I don't."

Before he can say another word, I grab the mirror from the cabinet and pass him the tools from a suturing kit.

"I know all about your career in plastics, Dr. Sloan."

"Then we'll get along just fine, Rising Phoenix."

"Uh, please. It's Dr. Phoenix."

The group of six interns congregate at our usual table to scarf down whatever meal the hospital cafeteria is serving today.

As usual, after a few crude comments geared towards each other, the number dwindles down to three: me, Meredith, and Cristina.

"We figured out a name for Sloan."

"Oh, yeah? What is it?"

"McSteamy."

"To rhyme with McDreamy. Yeah, I get it." I nod my head, stabbing a few lettuce leaves onto my fork. "Pretty creative."

Meredith smirks to herself proudly. "You can thank me for that."

By the time lunch is over, the other two have patients to get back to. I finish delivering some blood tests to the lab, and then I catch up with Dr. Shepherd.

"Care to explain why you punched Sloan for simply talking to me?"

I can't say Mark's words didn't affect me. If Derek really just walked away after watching his wife and his friend have sex, then why did he react so overtly to us talking?

"All of that anger from when he cheated. . .I guess it caught up to me."

"And now for the truth?"

"Really. That is the truth."

"U-huh." I chuckle teasingly. "Do you think things would've been different if she hadn't cheated on you?"

"Oh, definitely." His hands slip into the pockets of his white coat. "I would still be in New York with her. You wouldn't be talking to your dad."

My brows lift in surprise. "He told you?"

"That you come to visit him once a week? Yeah, he did." He glances over at me. "That's really good, Leven. It's not easy. . .but you're doing good." His words are filled with praise.

"Thank you, Dr. Shepherd. It means a lot."

Night falls across the city of Seattle, and one by one, our shifts end. The elevators fill with doctors dressed in their regular attires as they prepare for a sleep-filled night.

Or lack thereof, for some.

"I brought you some tea."

"And the dog."

Scar happily bounds through the hallways of my childhood home, jumping about and exploring the new place.

"Well, I couldn't leave my baby all alone at home." A giggle escapes my mouth. "After all, he spends most days at the daycare center."

"Mark Sloan came to visit me."

"Funny. He came to visit the hospital, too."

"I'm guessing he's told you about his history with Derek and Addison?"

"Oh, yeah. He even left some out for the imagination."

His laugh unfortunately turns into a heavy cough, leaving him breathless for a few moments. I hand him a napkin, which he takes gratefully.

"Leven, as you know, my health is just going to deteriorate until I. . ."

"I know."

"You're listed as my emergency contact. . .and my next of kin."

"Which means what, Lennox?"

"You get everything when I die."