𝗖𝗢𝗗𝗘 𝗕𝗟𝗨𝗘 ♱ 𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗬'𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗢𝗠𝗬
000 / BLAME THE BOOZE AND KAREV

As tradition, teaching hospitals would hold an annual event for incoming medical students to awkwardly mingle with other surgeons, physicians, and nurses. Despite the chance to network, many used it as an excuse for free food and liquor.

Aspen Montgomery was one of those many.

Her distaste for social functions stemmed from her parent's need to host prestigious dinner parties and reputable mixers nearly every week. Growing up, and whilst trudging through medical school, Aspen was expected to attend every single one.

When she began bringing her then-boyfriend (now fiancé) as her plus-one, her presence was suddenly no longer needed at the events, and the occasional pop-in every few months was much appreciated.

Luckily, Aspen wouldn't need to attend any sort of family gathering now due to moving across the country, escaping her parent's authoritative grasp. It wasn't that Aspen hated her entire family; she just hated her parents, which didn't seem too uncommon amongst anyone they knew.

The infamous Beatrice Forbes and Captain Montgomery were feared by all, especially their own children. While they paved the way in surgical history, they surely didn't assist their children in any way—only when it came to their futures as surgeons.

Beatrice was the daughter of the infamous heart-surgeons Dixie and Mitchell Forbes, while Captain was raised by his single mother, Ellen Montgomery, an ER nurse, but his late father, Archibald Montgomery, was a heart-surgeon as well.

Due to their families reputations as rewardable figures in the medical profession, Beatrice and Captain's futures were decided fairly early on—leading them to do the exact same thing to their own children.

Unfortunately, two out of the three children they had steered the car off the road fairly early on. While Archer, the eldest, became a neurologist, Addison, the middle child, specialized in Neonatal. Despite their highly successful careers, their parents still weren't satisfied because to them, you weren't a true surgeon unless you were a heart-surgeon.

Aspen, the youngest and last child, was their only hope. It was a little ironic that they were seemingly relying on her to carry the Montgomery-Forbes last name into the cardio-wing of the most prestigious hospital considering she were unwanted and ignored by them for many years of her life—and arguably still is.

While they held an open spot in their own private practice, Aspen took this newfound freedom and decided that it was time to do something for herself which led to her disappearance from Manhattan, New York and her courageous move to Seattle, Washington.

The whole thing seemed so surreal—tonight, she would be conversing with highly regarded surgeons, and tomorrow she would be attending her first day at Seattle Grace as a surgical intern.

"Hi," Aspen turned, her slender fingers clutching the tulip-shaped glass in her hand as she met the wide-eyed gaze of another woman. Happiness radiated off of her like warmth from a fire; dressed in soft whites and pinks, she extended her neatly kept hand in the raven-haired woman's direction. "I'm Isobel Stevens, but everyone calls me Izzie. I'm from Washington."

Her smile was dazzling, knocking the wind out of Aspen's lungs as she hurriedly met her hand in the middle for a brief handshake.

"Aspen Montgomery-Forbes, New York." Her tone laced with enthusiasm as she tried her best to match Isobel's joyful glow. The blonde woman gasped softly, causing Aspen's eyes to widen.

          "New York?" She grinned, "I have always wanted to go! How is it?" Her hand raised her champagne glass to her lips, delicately taking a sip of the bubbly drink as she anticipated Aspen's response.

Aspen thought about her response for a brief moment, as she didn't want to steer the woman away from the hellish place, but didn't want to create a false fairytale as many movies tend to do. "It's alright...Very crowded." Her response elicited a soft laugh from Isobel as she nodded in agreement.

          "I bet." She sighed softly, "What program are you in?"

          "Surgery." Aspen revealed.

          "No way, me too!" Isobel smiled, her heart swelling at finally finding another female surgeon. The place was practically riddled with men, leaving only a few women to linger in a group away from them. "Did you hear there's only six women total in the surgical program?" Isobel inquired, eyebrows furrowed.

Aspen's eyebrows furrowed in slight disbelief. As she glanced throughout the frivolously decorated room, she finally took notice on the lack of women. "Hm," Aspen hummed, "When my brother was an intern," she turned to meet Isobel's intrigued gaze. "There wasn't any women in his surgical program...It's such a shame, you know?"

Immediately, Isobel nodded in response. "We've just got to stand are ground, is all." She said confidently, "Let them know that we are surgeons." Aspen nodded at her words, giving her a stern look of agreement. The blonde fell quiet for a moment, their attention returning to the crowds as they silently people watched.

Then, her tone lowered, Isobel turned to Aspen with furrowed eyebrows. "I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to have a friend, you know?" Her eyes glistened with hope, fearful of being rejected. "Maybe we could have each other's back?" Her suggestion caused a small smile to lace along Aspen's lips.

"Of course, Izzie." Aspen assured her, "Us girls have to stick together." This elicited a sweet smile from Isobel as she nodded, a light laugh trickling past her plump lips as she sighed softly. "Have you tried the hors d'oeuvres?" Aspen inquired, gesturing to the large main table.

Isobel glanced at the table, her eyes widening at how large the frills were along the tablecloths' lining. "The tablecloth is a little intimidating but those cheese-stuffed cherry tomatoes really make up for it." Aspen added before taking a sip of her champagne.

Isobel couldn't help but laugh lightly at Aspen's words, covering her wide smile with her hand as the raven-haired woman soon joined her in a fit of laughter. A few of their soon to be colleagues sent some judgmental glances in their directions, causing the two to only laugh harder.

"Looks like someone's had a lot to drink." A man stated as he approached them, a smug smirk prominent along his lips. Izzie smiled kindly, both women's laughter dying down as they controlled their breathing. "Alex Karev, Iowa." He extended his calloused hand, causing Isobel to reach for it with a small smile.

"Isobel Stevens, Washington." The blonde replied before gesturing to Aspen. "This is Aspen." Their hands departed as he turned towards Aspen, mimicking the same movement.

"Aspen Montgomery-Forbes, New York." She revealed, earning a nod from the man. "Oh, have you tried those cheese tomato things—They're great, right?" Aspen inquired, causing Isobel to snicker once again as Alex's eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly.

"Am I missing something?" He asked, glancing between the two before his eyes lingered on Aspen's gleaming eyes.

Isobel quickly shook her head, "No—It's an inside joke." As she spoke, her smile never faltered. Aspen smiled, forgetting her sour feelings from just moments ago. "We were actually just talking about how this is nice, you know, throwing a mixer for the new interns." Aspen nodded in solidarity to Isobel's words, causing Alex's eyebrows to shoot up.

"Yeah, I guess." He turned, looking out into the sea of interns. "It's just an excuse to get us all happy and drunk before they torture us." Aspen's nodded in agreement as she raised her glass, taking another sip of her champagne. "What, uh, programs are you two in?" He asked, gesturing to them both but maintaining his eye contact with Aspen as she met his curious gaze.

"Surgery—both surgery." Isobel replied, smiling proudly. Alex's eyebrows furrowed, causing Aspen and Isobel to share a quick side glance.

"Seriously?" He responded, tone dripping with disbelief as the two women nodded in sync at his outdated reaction and response. "I would've thought PEDS or gynie—Not surgery."

Aspen narrowed her eyes at the man. "What? Why is that so shocking?" Her tone was annoyed, her former joyful expression seemingly dissipated. "Because we're chicks, right?" She cocked her head to the side, causing Isobel to nod, crossing her arms in a defensive manner.

"No, it's just...surgery is hardcore." Alex said, shrugging her comment off.

"We are hardcore." Isobel replied. Alex scoffed.

"You two won't last the first year, babe." He turned around, leaving the two women in their cloud of hurt as they stood there in confusion, silently wondering if that interaction really happened.

Aspen swallowed hard, "What a pig."

Isobel, seemingly bruised by his words, nodded. "Well, my night's officially ruined." Aspen scoffed slightly, nodding as she glanced around the seemingly darkened room. "Am I overreacting or just a little tipsy?" She inquired, furrowing her eyebrows at Aspen's stern expression.

          "I blame the booze and Karev." Aspen replied to the blonde's sullen remark, earning a small smile in response despite the sad glimmer in her eyes. People were beginning to filter out, the night coming to an end. Isobel visibly brightened at her idea, quickly turning to face Aspen with a hopeful smile.

"We'll prove him wrong." She said causing Aspen to smile, nodding in agreement despite the mark his comment had left on her. As his words rang in her mind, she couldn't help but envision her father's spitting them in her face with her mother standing in solidarity, choosing a man over her own daughter once again.