chapter one| Seattle Grace Mercy West...

❝Seattle Grace Mercy West.
Say that five times fast,❞

season 6 episode 5 | invasion

Tension was high since today was the day that Seattle Grace and Mercy West would officially merge into one big happy family. The day when orange would fade into blue, the day when Lydia and Katherine, along with their fellow residents, would have to adapt again to the new environment once more.

Lydia shook the fear off her before she and Katherine stepped into the elevator beside Alex Karev. The woman shot her ex-boyfriend a polite smile while he muttered something incoherent under his breath, earning a scoff from Katherine.

"Stop it," Lydia whispered, trying to keep the peace between the two.

"No," Katherine spoke as the elevator door closed in on them.

However, a hand shoved into the elevator, causing the trio to glance up to see a pair of orange scrub-wearing surgeons enter. The three tried to hold back their annoyed groans as Katherine and Lydia shifted behind them to make room in the elevator.

Alex flinched backwards with a frown as one of them pressed the button to the elevator.

Oh, how Katherine and Lydia wished they had a drink in their hand each time they saw a Mercy Wester. They would make a good drinking game, and the pair would die from alcohol poisoning real soon.

Izzie glanced up at the clan of orange that occupied the lounge after she tied her shoelaces. Her head turned to one of them, shoving her things into one of the cubby. "Oh, hey. You can't put that there," Izzie pointed to the redhead girl.

"They told us to grab a cubby," The redhead responded, unfazed by Izzie's request.

"Yeah, I know, it's just..." Izzie trailed off, the death of her friend fresh in her mind as she exhaled. "We keep it empty for a reason," Izzie explained. "Can you take your stuff out? There's empty ones over there you can use,"

"I don't think so," The girl spoke, not backing down to move her things into a new locker. She seems incredibly determined to keep her spot on the cubby.

"I said take it out!" Izzie raised her voice, her irritation rising as she narrowed her eyes at the girl.

The girl pushed her bag further into her cubicle. "Great. I get the crazy one next to me," She muttered to her friend beside her, who was scribbling something in her little red notebook.

Izzie was appalled as her jaw dropped in shock at the comment. "Oh, you wanna fight? 'Cause I will, Izzie asked, standing up from the bench as Alex, Lydia, and Katherine entered the lounge.

"Izzie-" Alex called out to his wife, rushing to her side.

"I will fight you! You're tiny. I could take you down in a couple of seconds," Izzie spoke angrily as she towered over the redhead while Alex came up behind her, holding his wife back.

"Come on," Alex pulled Izzie away from the girl, dragging her out of the room.

"Stop," Izzie tried to wiggle herself out of Alex's grip.

Lydia walked up to the girl with a polite smile. "It's just been a tense week for everyone. So would you mind scooting down a little?"

The redhead shook her head before she scoffed. "What is up with Seattle Grace and their kinks with this cubby?"

Katherine knew to pull her best friend with her before things got ugly. Katherine came up behind her before she tugged her arm to follow her.

"It's not a kink. It's an important-" She was interrupted by Katherine's arm pulling her away from the name. Lydia exhaled before her eyes landed on the nametag on the redhead's scrubs.

"Reed," She muttered before the two walked out to the balcony where everyone else stood, watching over the other Mercy Westers crowd the hospital. That was the redhead's name, Reed Adamson.

Katherine and Lydia stood next to Lexie Grey with a frown. The two doctors became friends with the young resident when she was assigned to Katherine. The three shared their moments of chaos when Lexie turned out to be Meredith Grey's half-sister.

"They took George's cubby," Izzie spoke up, causing the five to turn to her while Alex stroked his wife's neck in an attempt to comfort her.

The remaining group of residents sat in Meredith's room. Lexie's finger hung on the blind of the window with Katherine standing behind her, watching the resident be bored out of her mind.

"They're locusts. Comfortable locusts feeding on our surgery," Meredith spoke from her bed since the day before she unwillingly harvested her liver for her alcoholic father.

"That's rude. There should be a couple of days where they act like guests before they put their feet up on the coffee table," Izzie spoke bitterly, leaning against the table.

"And what's with the orange scrubs? What? Ours aren't good enough for them?" Lexie spoke, peeking at the other Mercy Westers through the blinds in Mer's room.

"Or did Mercy West switch them out so their people could look like a group of criminals?" Katherine said.

"We ran out. They're on back order. Randall from the supply company says they'll be here in a week," Meredith responded to her sister's question before everyone turned to her in confusion.

"That's what you learn when you lie here all day," She clarified how she knows about such logistics.

"Why order new ones? We can give these to our replacements," One of the residents spoke up, his finger pulling against the blue scrubs they wore, while Cristina snapped her finger at another resident to give up her seat.

"We're not gonna be replaced by anybody," Alex spoke.

"If I have to become a coroner-"

"No one is becoming a coroner," Meredith interrupted the panicked residents. "Cristina, tell him," She passed the ball to her friend to reassure the remaining residents.

"Tell him what? They're here. It's over," Cristina spoke with a shake of her head. She was in no mood to provide anyone with any source of comfort as she shifted in her seat.

"Hey, we are not some stupid hosts. They can't invade us. They can't attach themselves to our faces, and while we're eating spaghetti explode out of our chests and skitter across the floor. This is our ship. This is our ship," The older Grey woman gestured crazily.

"Has she eaten her pills today?" Lydia whispered to the younger Grey.

"Excuse me? Are you quoting that Siguomey Weaver movie?" Lexie asked her, earning a chuckle from Katherine and Lydia.

"Shut up," She retorted.

Izzie held back a chuckle. "That's what happens when you live here," Izzie spoke before she turned to the TV to the ceiling. "You watch a lot of TV,"

"We own this hospital. We were born in this hospital," Meredith said while Izzie bit into her apple chunk. "And we will hold this hospital with our last gasping breath," Her finger waved in the air.

"I really don't wanna be a coroner. I don't like dead people," Steve shook his head in horror as his voice trembled before Katherine walked over to the shaking resident.

"We'll be alright," Katherine whispered in an attempt to comfort him.

"Go out there and go get surgeries before they take them," Meredith snapped before the sound of the residents' shoes squeaked against the slippery floor of Seattle Grace Mercy West. "Go! And, I want a full report by the end of the day!"

Katherine pushed Steve in front of her, quietly stroking the man's back to calm his nerves while Lydia wrapped an arm over Lexie's shoulder.

"I'll treat you to a drink after this," She pressed a hug to the woman's side.

"Where do you want us?" Cristina asked, brushing her hair up behind her neck as the group of Seattle Grace doctors rushed out from Meredith's room.

"At this point, anywhere is good," Owen Hunter spoke, unable to contain the urgency in his voice amidst the packed ER due to Mercy West's emergency room being officially shut down last night.

"At Mercy West, we do zones," One of the Mercy Westers spoke up, causing everyone to turn to him in confusion at the suggestion.

"Does he look familiar?" Lydia asked Katherine, staring the man down, before her friend merely responded with a shrug.

"When it's super busy, we give everyone a zone, space. The nurse puts a person in, you know it's your patient, helps get to them quicker," He spoke as he threw his stethoscope around his neck.

"Well, this is an ER, not a schoolyard," Cristina argued before she stepped closer to Owen. "We're not playing four squares," Cristina spoke, subtly insulting the Mercy Westers before they chuckled softly.

"I like it," Owen responded, which wiped the smile off the Seattle Grace residents' faces when they heard the acceptance in the Head of Trauma's voice.

"What?" Cristina asked, her mouth dropped open when her boyfriend chose to dismiss her suggestion to keep everything the way they were.

"Good idea. Let's try it. What's your name?" Owen asked the resident.

"Jackson Avery," He responded calmly, before Owen lent out his hand.

"Dr. Avery, Dr. Hunt," The attending introduced himself before they shared a handshake. "It's all yours. Zone away," Owen spoke before he left the ER, leaving the group of Seattle Grace residents feeling betrayed as the three other Mercy Westers parasities walked into the ER with a proud grin.

Everyone else froze momentarily before Cristina's voice brought them back to life. "Let's go," She spoke before everyone else walked further into the ER.

After everyone split up, an ambulance had arrived with one of the paramedics immediately wheeling one of the victims into the ER.

Lydia walked up to the gurney, her footsteps quickening at the hope of getting her first patient.

"Frank Nusbaum, 42, multiple mostly superficial stab wounds, vital signs table. His buddy's got a lacerated palm," They announced while Jackson grabbed the chart from the bed.

"Got it," Cristina nodded in acknowledgment as she snatched the chart out of Jackson's hand.

"I'm not his buddy! He touched my little girl! My baby!" The other patient yelled, his finger aimed at his friend, whom Lydia could only assume was the other victim.

"She's not a baby, she's 19 years old! There ain't a scrap of baby left, Don!" He retorted as they transferred him to the hospital bed.

"One, two, three," Cristina said while the two men continued bickering before she peeled back the gauze. Blood splattered onto her gown before Cristina covered it with her hand, applying pressure so more blood wouldn't spray out.

"Draw up some lidocaine and get me a lac tray with 3-0 silk," Cristina ordered one of the nurses before Lydia brushed past Jackson.

"Need any help?" Jackson asked while he stood there.

"Sir, this is gonna pinch," Lydia spoke after the nurse handed her the apparatus.

The man groaned as the needle jammed into his skin. "He came at me with a carving knife! Tried to cut off..."

"Come on, I was gesturing! You ran into the knife! You're an idiot and a pervert! She used to babysit your brats. I can't believe I ever left her in your house!" The other victim stood in a fit of rage, and the security guard tried to hold him back.

"I love her, Don," The man declared to his friend, causing him to sit down in shock. "I love her and she loves me,"

Lydia and Cristina remained focused on the victim in front of them, jamming needles into the necessary places to soothe the pain.

"I'm gonna kill him!" He yelled in anger, leaping out of his seat once more. This time, Jackson turned around and tried to calm the man down, pushing him back. "Let him die! It's what he deserves,"

"Psycho..." Lydia muttered while the two residents continued to save the man from bleeding out.

"Would you shut him up?" Cristina asked the man dressed in the orange scrub.

Lydia thought the Mercy Wester was odd, his scrubs being the only orange ones amongst the other Seattle Grace residents, his presence stuck out like a sore thumb, and his lack of taking initiative made her believe he was far from competent to be working at Seattle Grace.

Correction: Seattle Grace Mercy West.

"Are you sure there's nothing I can..." Jackson marched up to the two girls before they pulled away from the patients, informing him that they were done with the bleeder.

"There. You know what? That's how we do it on our side of town," Cristina spoke, shooting the man a glare.

While the patient was sitting between Cristina and Lydia, getting his wounds treated. A young girl jogged towards him anxiously. "Frank! Oh my god!" She spoke before she connected her lips with his.

Lydia turned to Cristina with a concenered look, trying to hold back a confused curse under her breath before the woman pulled away. "Honey, are you ok?"

"I'll be fine, sweetheart," The patient reassured the girl as he stroked his girlfriend's hair.

The other patient ripped through the curtain while Jackson was trying to tend to his arm. "Get off of her, you perv!"

"Daddy!" The girl Lydia assumed was his daughter shouted.

The man lunged for the hammer on the tray next to him. "I will kill you, you son of a bitch!" He raced towards him as Lydia and Cristia stood up from their chairs.

"Security!" Cristina called out before the Mercy Wester resident tackled him to the ground. He sat on top of his back as he held the man in place.

"Nice work," Owen Hunt said after he rushed out when he heard the commotion.

"Thanks," Jackson spoke before the security handcuffed the man.

Lydia rolled her eyes as she heard the standing ovation the man received for preventing the assault. A couple of them shook his hand while Jackson nodded awkwardly.

"What happens when he actually saves a patient? He'll get the keys to the city?" Lydia whispered to Cristina.

"A tackle like that, you had to play football," Owen Hunt said after he hung the sehtscope around his neck.

"I played a little in college," Jackson spoke shyly, his hands gripping the railings of another patient's bed.

"Safety?"

"And wide receiver, yeah," Jackson added.

"Offense and defense. Impressive," Owen said.

Lydia and Cristina watched the interaction between them with a scowl. "Can you bring that guy over later? I want to thank him. He saved my life," The patient spoke.

"No, I saved your life," Cristina spoke harshly as she ripped the  sensors on the man's chest. "iI'm still saving it,"

"This blows," Alex huffed as the four residents slammed their lunch trays onto the table.

"You getting your ass kicked?" Cristina asked the man before Lydia chuckled.

"Shut up," He spoke with his mouth full of the sandwich. "I hear yours got a standing ovation in the ER," Alex said sarcastically before Katherine turned to Lydia in confusion.

"What?"

"Yours the one who saved the whole ER from the maniac with a hammer," Lexie stated, poking her head at Katherine.

"Ok. He didn't save anyone. He did some stupid ninja leap and tripped the guy," Cristina said before she turned to Alex. "We use actual medicine to stop a person from dyinig,"

"Yeah, once again, a man wins on his first day because he's a man," Lydia spoke bitterly.

"You have the freak's notebook," Katherine whispered to the resident next to her. "What? Secrets? Delusional dreams?"

"No..." Lexie muttered, trying to hide the red notebook on her lap. Before Katherine could pry the notebook from her hand. "Well, mine has a notebook that she takes notes in, notes of a very personal nature, and I stole it,"

"You what?" Cristina turned to the resident in confusion while Alex swallowed donw the bite of the sandwich he had consumed.

"Give it,"

"No! No, I am not sinking to their level," Lexie protested as she shoved the red notebook into the coat pocket. "They are vindictive and aggressive and... and they're not team players, and if we're not careful, that spirit is going to infect our hospital. We have to fight it," Lexie slammed her fist against the table.

"Which is why you stole her notebook?" Cristinia asked with a surprised grin.

"And read it," Alex added with his mouth full.

"She's not a very nice person..." Lexie whispered as she sank back into her seat while Katherine stroked the resident's hair.

"Hey. Score! You rock!" Alex exclaimed when his wife came over to the table, seeing her hands holding coffee. His hand automatically reached for one of the cups of coffee before Izziie pulled them out of his reach.

"No. that's not for you,"

"Who's it for then?" Criistinia asked.

"Charles," She responded.

The name caused the five to freeze in shock; their eyes widened as they processed the name before Cristina spoke up. "Your Mercy West guy?" She asked, a hint of betrayal and disbelief in her voice.

"They're handing our asses on a plate and you're serving him coffee?" Alex asked his wife while Izzie still had a grin on her face.

"Charles is kind of awesome, and if you could get past your sad little egos, you'd realize you can't write off all the Mercy West residents just 'cause you feel threatened," Izzie stated before she casually pulled the cup of coffee from her husband's cup.

"We don't feel threatened," Cristina tried to deny as Izzie walked away from the group.

"No,"

After a moment of silence washed over the group. "Yeah, we feel pretty threatened," Lexie nodded before they continued eating.

Lydia paused mid-chew to find Alex scanning around the cafeteria, her eyes following his. "What?" She asked her ex-boyfriend.

"Dudes, they're not here," Alex stated.

"Hallelujah," Cristinia responded before she continued chewing.

"They're not eating. They're working," Alex said, causing everyone to pause in confusion.

The four girls turned around to see the lack of commotion from the sea of orange before they leaped out of their seats in realisation. "Oh my god! They don't eat lunch!" Cristina exclaimed before the five sprinted out of their seats.

Cristina and Lydia rushed into the ER. Their footsteps halted when they saw Jackson Avery bandaging up their patient's foot. "What's going on?"

"Pulsatile mass over the stab wound. What are we looking at?" Owen asked Jackson.

"Can't be sure without an angio, but I think it's a pseudo-aneurysm,"

"I think you're right. Keep pressure on," The Trauma surgeon ordered. "Get him up to Angio. And if it's positive, you scrub in," He stated.

Jackson Avery shot Lydia and Cristina a smug smile when he was handed the case. "Thank you, sir," He grinned while Lydia and Cristina stood in shock.

"But that's our patient," Cristina argued.

"Well, he was here and you weren't," Owen stated before they wheeled the patient away.

Lydia knew better than to argue with the man; however, Cristina didn't back down. "Dr. Hunt!" She shouted at the Head of Trauma. 

"What?" He sighed at his girlfriend's outburst. When he wasn't given a response, only a mere glare from Cristina before he walked to the resident. "Cristina, what?"

"What? That doesn't matter whether it's our patient or my surgery. You're prioritizing based on some random code, some stupid rule you have not to favour me,"

"This is one surgery," Owen spoke, trying to reassure the woman.

"Forget it," Cristina shook her head at the betrayal before she turned on her heel and walked away from the two.

"Cristina..." Lydia sighed, knowing where she was gonna sulk.

Owen shot the other resident a stern glare before she raised her hands in surrender. "Don't shoot me,"

"How bad was it?" Katherine asked the woman as they entered the resident lounge.

"I wouldn't know. I wasn't the one who operated on him," Lydia spoke with a pout when Owen Hunt told her she wasn't going to perform the surgery since Derek would kill both of if she laid her hands on another patient. They made their way to their cubicle, where their bags hung.

"That stupid Mercy Wester guy did,"

"Jackson Avery, was it?" Katherine asked.

"I'm gonna kill him," Lydia spoke as she pulled the scrub top over her head. "I'm gonna poke his eyes out with tiny little-"

Katherine held up her hand to her friend, trying to stop her from continuing her rant. "I got that. How about a drink at Joe's?"

"Even better," She groaned as she slipped her black top over her bra. "Where's Lex?" She asked her friend as the two changed out of their scrubs.

"We'll find her," Katherine said before they picked up their bag.

Lydia's eyes landed on the note taped under Alex Karev's locker. She chose to ignore the letter, walking past it as her friend lent her a hand. "Come on. Let's get out of here before-"

As if she manifested the person in her mind, Alex walked into the room with a scowl over to his locker before Lydia and Katherine locked their eyes with each other.

Make a run for it was all Lydia could think of as she walked past the man. "Night," She tried to sound polite to the man before she received a mere grunt in acknowledgement from him.

Katherine and Lydia ushered themselves out of the room, leaving the man all alone.

Alex masked his annoyance as he walked to his cubicle. He pulled his light blue scrubs over his head before his eyes landed on a piece of paper sticking out above his locker.

He snatched it before he scanned the letter, analysing the contents before his stomach dropped.

No. No. No! How could she? He married her while she had cancer, all for her to give him a John Doe letter. His wife left him.

He slumped down on the bench before a specific part caught his eye. His heart sank at the revelation as his lips parted in shock.

She'd never seen such an idiotic gesture where the girl hands the man to the other woman. Where, instead of the opposite, in which the blonde and brunette would fight until their deaths.

Alex's eyes widened at the confession. His hand gripped the letter tighter as he reread the same paragraph over and over, assuming it was the exhaustion causing him to misread the letter.

However, after multiple attempts at blinking, he rubbed his eyes. Any attempt at trying to get his eyes to focus. He stared at the same sentence, his eyes practically burning through the letter.

Lydia had given him off to Izzie.

After everything, he thought about the coincidence of their breakup, the way Izzie was ready to take him in immediately. The way he was led back to the blonde was confusing.

He couldn't believe it. She did it; the brunette had given up. Whether it was on them or Izzie, she had done it. She ended things with him so Izzie could have him.

Alex exhaled shakily after what felt like minutes. He buried his head in his hands as he processed the information. The truth was hitting him harder than he expected.

"Martini," Lydia immediately slammed her bag onto the counter as Lexie and Katherine slid into the seats beside her. "And keeping a running count. Once I hit seven. I'm out," 

"Someone's being responsible," Joe spoke as he started making the drink in front of him. A drink he knew to heart from Lydia and her fellow residents, being regulars for years since the bar was minutes from the hospital. 

"Well. I am a doctor," Lydia gestured before she turned her head to the other resident. "What's with the pout?" 

Lexie snapped out of her train of thought. "Remember the notebook I stole?" 

Katherine and Lydia turned to her, their curiosity piqued when the topic of one of Mercy Wester's notebook resurfaced. "You returned it, didn't you?" Katherine asked, and the resident slowly nodded. 

"And I said sorry," Lexie muttered before Joe set down Lydia's martini in front of her. 

"Good man," Lydia grinned at the bartender before she downed the drink. "Avery!" She suddenly blurted out, earning confused looks from Katherine and Lexiie. 

"What?" Katherine asked. 

"Harper Avery," Lydia merely stated, hoping Katherine would be able to catch on to what she was saying. She stared at her best friend with widened eyes. 

Katherine's mouth parted slightly at the name when the realisation hit her. How could she not have noticed sooner? Jackson Avery is Harper Avery's grandson. 

Lydia smirked when she saw the light bulb go off in Katherine's head. As Joe slid her second martini, her pager buzzed in her pocket. She glanced down, picking up the buzzer. When she read the message, her eyes widened. 

Lexie noticed the shock on her face. "Lydia?" 

"Nothing," She tried to hide her shock as she quickly tossed the pager back into her bag. "I might need something stronger," She quickly drank the drink, hoping the alcohol could stop the panic that rose within her. 

Katherine and Lydia stared between Lydia and the pager that was in her bag. The two shrugged, choosing not to press on the matter before Joe slid them their drinks. 

🩺
hello? how we feeling? my first chapter makes Lydia sound so boring. She doesn't have much lore to go on right now before she's a character I'm really excited to build on!! 

I'll also do chapters in both Katherine and Lydia's pov because I want you guys to kinda see both ocs' pov. 

alex karev is very much those right time, wrong person. ex turned into friend type person. 

the grey's anatomy bots I've been toying with on c.ai have been taken down :((( I used them a lot typically for prompts. I'm so sad about that!!!

also lexie, lydia and katherine this trio... protect them at all costs.