Chapter 6

Meredith was suddenly paged by Derek, causing conflicting emotions to surge within her. Ever since the incident at Burke's wedding, their relationship hadn't been repaired to a point where they could feel comfortable in each other's company. But in the hospital, with Derek being an attending, she had no choice but to answer the page. As the elevator doors were about to close, the second person she didn't want to meet in the entire hospital showed up.

"Hi," Lexie greeted politely. She checked which floor Meredith was heading to and smiled, saying, "Oh, nice. We're going to the same floor. Did Dr. Shepherd page you too?"

Meredith, not wanting to engage in conversation, simply nodded in response. After what Thatcher had done to her, she had no desire to have any connection with his family. She didn't care if they shared the same father. To Meredith, she was an only child. Lexie and her shared the same last name, that is all.

Either oblivious to Meredith's disinterest or choosing to ignore her attitude, Lexie continued, eager to make a connection with her half-sister, "Do you know why we were paged? I don't have any patients today with him as the attending. Mer?"

Annoyance laced in her voice, Meredith replied, "I am Dr. Grey here. Do you understand, Dr. Grey?". She continued in order to strongly get her point across, "Not Meredith, not Mer, but Dr. Grey".

Taken aback by Meredith's response, Lexie sheepishly replied, "Yes, Dr. Grey. I understand."

The two walked in silence, with Lexie trailing behind Meredith. They eventually reached the room where Derek had paged them. Inside, Derek was checking a boy's vitals with a worried expression on his face, not noticing the arrival of the Grey sisters.

Interrupting his thoughts, Meredith spoke up, "Dr. Shepherd, you paged us?"

Surprised, Derek looked at the two sisters and took a deep breath before saying, "Close the door, Lexie. We need some privacy for this."

Lexie proceeded to close the door, and both Greys focused their attention on Derek. Without further delay, Derek decided to reveal the truth, stating, "This is Lucas Grey, your half-brother."

Silence filled the room as the Greys struggled to comprehend what Derek had just revealed. Lexie spoke up, her voice filled with confusion, "What?"

Derek provided more information, explaining, "When your mother died..." He looked directly at Lexie. "Thatcher, who was inconsolable with grief at the time, confessed to having had an affair in the past. He mentioned that the child was put up for adoption. A few days ago, I discovered that the child was Lucas."

Lexie, still trying to process the information, asked, "Wait, what?". Thatcher was just a patient to Derek, him trying to find Thatcher's adopted son didn't make sense. It wasn't something you casually do, Lexie still confuse, "So, my father mentioned having another baby, and the first thing you do is track down the child. Why?"

Derek sheepishly glanced at Meredith and said, "I thought it could help, Meredith." Hearing Derek's words, Meredith was taken aback. Derek continued, "You've never had a healthy relationship with any of your family members. I thought it could help you if—"

Meredith, not letting Derek continue, spoke with anger lace in her voice, "I am an only child". She glanced back at Lexie to make her point across and immediately left the room. Seeing this scene, disheartened Derek greatly, while Lexie glanced at yet another half sibling she didn't know existed.

A few minutes later, Lexie could be found in the NICU department of the hospital. Her eyes absently staring at all the cute newborn babies, so innocent, so fragile. Babies that know nothing about the troubles of the world.

"You page?", Dr. George O'Malley stated as he positioned himself besides Lexie. The two had formed the beginning of a great friendship, with George being Lexie's first friend in the Internship program. While Lexie was also the individual that provided comfort for George when he was having trouble accepting the fact that he had to repeat his internship year. The two of them had started leaning on each without them even knowing it.

Without turning her gaze away from the adorable babies in the NICU, Lexie replied, "I have a half-brother."

Confused, George replied, "Brother? What do you mean?". George knew about Meredith being Lexie's half-sister but a brother was something he knew absolutely nothing about.

"Apparently, my father had an affair sometime in the early 90s," Lexie stated, her voice heavy with defeat. "It's problematic on its own," she continued, her words laced with a mix of disbelief and disappointment. "I always believed that my parents had a perfect relationship. I never thought my father could ever betray my mother like that."

She paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts before continuing. "And now, the result of that affair is here in this hospital, a patient of Derek's, suffering from an illness that neither Dr. Shepherd nor Dr. Stevens knows anything about." Lexie sighed, her gaze shifting to George. "I'm at a loss for how to feel... The boy is innocent, I know that. But his presence here is a painful reminder that my father's marriage to my mother was a sham. And now, I have to grapple with not just a sister who seemingly hates me, but also a brother who, if my mother had known about him before she died, would have broken her heart."

"I see," George replied, his voice filled with empathy. "Life can certainly present us with unexpected challenges, can't it?" He offered a small smile, trying to bring a sense of reassurance to Lexie. "I understand what you're going through. It's difficult to come to terms with the flaws and mistakes of our parents."

George gently rubbed Lexie's back, a comforting gesture to ease her troubled thoughts. "Your father's betrayal and Meredith's distance, it's heartbreaking to experience as a daughter and a sibling. But for now, I believe it's important to focus on what you can control. Focus on the present and tackle the immediate issues. Who knows, with time, some of these problems may resolve themselves."

With those words of encouragement, the two fell into a companionable silence, finding solace in each other's presence.

Meanwhile, in a corner of the hospital, Dr. Stevens sat surrounded by scattered test results on a table. It was a meticulous process, examining each piece of data to unravel the mystery behind Lucas' illness. Aware that she would likely be working late into the night, she poured herself a cup of coffee to keep her focused.

As she delved deeper into the analysis, Dr. Karev entered the room, carrying a stack of books about the central nervous system. The sight of him caught her attention, and she raised an eyebrow in surprise. Alex wasn't typically the kind of person to volunteer his help unless there was something in it for him.

"I took a look at Lucas' chart. I'll help you find what's wrong with him," Alex stated, his voice carrying a sense of determination as he glanced at the scattered test results on the table.

Perplexed, Dr. Stevens couldn't help but ask, "Why? What's the reason?" Having known Alex since their internship and sharing a house with him, she was well aware of his self-interest-driven nature. His sudden willingness to assist was unexpected.

With a forceful tone, Alex replied, "The kid reminds me of myself. Let's leave it at that."

Dr. Stevens nodded, choosing not to press further. It was clear that something about Lucas struck a chord with Alex, and perhaps their shared experiences were driving his unexpected altruism.

After an hour of intense examination, Lexie, too, insisted on joining Dr. Stevens in her quest to uncover the truth. Both Alex and Dr. Stevens were taken aback when Lexie revealed that Lucas was her half-brother, deepening the complexity of the situation.