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was Ellis' house." Maggie spoke up, looking around Alex's living room in awe. Meredith had invited her to Alex's to have drinks and pizza with them and Callie in hopes of making up for the fact dinner the other night was a bust because of her and Derek's....activities. "This is where you grew up."

"It was nicer before Alex trashed it." Meredith told her, grinning as Alex threw her a look.

"Oh, shut up. It smelled like books." Alex argued, sipping from his beer. "Whether that was from Ella or your mother, I don't know."

Maggie's brows furrow a bit in confusion, but before she can speak up, Callie does.

"Well, it smelled a lot better when I lived here. Now it just smells like Karev."

"Wait." Maggie finally speaks up, Alex's loud laughter grabbing Jo's attention from the office. "You lived here, too? And Eleanora?"

"Everybody lived here." Meredith and Alex informed her at the same time, Callie nodding along.

"I practically lived her with George, right?" Callie asked, propping her feet up in the coffee table. Callie remembers then that Maggie probably had no idea what she was talking about, turning her head to focus on her. "George was my ex-husband. He was in their resident class and is one of Eleanora's best friends."

Alex raises his bottle up to the roof, his voice a little strained. "O'Malley."

Callie and Meredith follow along, all three with sad smiles on their faces. Maggie puts a finger up, leaning towards Callie.

"I'm sorry. Your husband?"

"Yeah, she does dudes, too." Alex tells her, leaning back in his chair. Callie throws him a look but shrugs.

"True. I did him once." Maggie's eyes widen but Callie waves her off. "It was after Ella and him, though."

Those words cause Jo's head to snap around from the office again, her eyes wide. Maggie must of had the same look on her face, Meredith laughing at her sister.

"I didn't do it with him." Meredith promised her sister, dealing out a deck of cards. "I did do George, though—once."

"Oh, god. We're all related through sex." Callie tells them, her eyes a little bright at the conclusion. "We all have sexual relations. That is horribly weird."

The group chuckles a bit, but in the other room, Jo is still staring wide eyed into the living room, her stomach twisting a bit.

Eleanora and Alex together? At some point, at least. Jo couldn't really wrap her head around it, if she was honest. They were practically best friends! But then, her head began to spin a bit and a mixture of worry and dread filled in her stomach.

Why had Alex never told her? It would have been different if he hadn't talked about his past exes and she hadn't talked about hers, but they had. And Alex just....forgot to tell her?

. Jo thought, shaking her head as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

_____

had absolutely no idea what she was doing.

She paced around in her hotel room the night before she hopped on a plane back to Seattle, her heels thrown somewhere towards the front door and her outfit from the conference still on her body. Her hair, which before was pulled up in a pretty bun that showed off her curls, was frizzy and messed up from her pulling at it due to nerves.

She just got offered her dream job at one of the best hospitals in the country, and she had no idea what she was going to do about it.

She glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand of her bed, stopping in her pacing. She began to twist at her wedding ring, her eyes flickering from the alarm clock to her phone that was thrown on the bed haphazardly along with her bag when she got back.

She finally set in motion, throwing herself on the bed as she scrambled for her phone. Pulling up her contacts, she pulled her legs underneath her and pressed on one of the first contacts in her phone, putting the cell to her ear and closing her eyes as she listened to the ringing.

"

"It's like midnight here, actually." Eleanora spoke quickly, her voice nervous. "Tell me you're able to talk to me right now. Please, Cristina?"

"Cristina is quiet for a moment and Eleanora opens her mouth to respond, but the cardio surgeon lets out a noise and interrupts. ""

"Nobody died, Cristina!" Eleanora scolded, running a hand up and down her face in slight frustration. "I got a job offer from John's Hopkins!"

It's quiet for a few minutes again, Eleanora chewing at the inside of her mouth as nerves begin to build up again.

.

"Not an Attending Position. Chief of Neuro."

""

Eleanora laughs at that, some of the stress buildup flowing out of her shoulders. A small, happy grin pulls on her lips as she rubs at her forehead, closing her eyes.

"I miss you, Cristina."

"."