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outof the bathroom after finishing getting ready, Eleanora was hit with a horrible smell. Her nose scrunched up as she fanned in front of her face, deciding to follow the scent to find the culprit.

She found her answer when she walked into the kitchen and saw Meredith plating some eggs for Lexie, who was sitting at the island with a slightly terrified look in her eyes.

"Ella, you want some eggs?" Meredith asked, looking up for a moment. She looked a little frazzled, as if she didn't know what she was doing. "I can pop in some toast for you if you want?"

Eleanora gave her a smile, shaking her head as she rounded the island to open the fridge. "No, it's fine! I've been wanting to eat this yogurt since last night."

Meredith hands Lexie the plate, the younger sister looking at Meredith with bright eyes. Derek snorts, informing Eleanora and Alex, who had just entered, about what was going on.

"Meredith cooked. She wanted to do something nice for Lexie."

"You cooked this for ?" Lexie asked softly, and Meredith nodded. She was obviously trying to act like it wasn't a big deal, and Eleanora hid her excited smile as she ate a spoonful of her yogurt.

She truly had wanted Lexie and Meredith to start getting along. She was friends with both of the Greys and had been slowly getting tired of handling both of their problems about each other separately. Also, she grew up with three siblings and tons of cousins and how important family was.

"It's no big deal." Meredith puts the pan in the sink, wincing at the pieces of egg burnt onto it. "Just eggs and avocado and....whatever cheese that was in the fridge."

"Oh, I love, um, avocados." Lexie stuttered out, giving the eggs a slightly scared look. Eleanora furrowed her brows but didn't get to comment on it, instead catching the time on the clock by the door.

She let out a small curse and finished her yogurt quickly, rushing to grab her bag. Everyone turned to look at her, Lexie spitting out some of the food when Meredith wasn't looking with a disgusted look on her face.

"And where do you think you're going?" Meredith called after her. Eleanora slipped her bags shoulder strap on, giving her an apologetic smile.

"I promised Mark I'd meet him for coffee. He normally just brings it to the hospital, but he was complaining and saying that Hannah was whining about not seeing me."

She waved a goodbye to her friends, stumbling around the corner and outside to try and speed outside, knowing that she had to catch the bus in the next eight minutes if she didn't want to be running behind, seeing as George confiscated her keys last night.

Meredith made a noise, looking over at her boyfriend with exasperation. Derek didn't look pleased with the knowledge that Elenaora was practically going on a date with Mark Sloan, and a grunt from Alex was heard.

Lexie took another shaky bite of her food, sinking in her chair a bit as the tension fill the room.

"These are really good, Meredith. They're....chewy. I-I like....chewy eggs?"

_______

bell above the door rang out, causing Mark to look up from where he was sitting. He let a smile form on his lips when he saw a flushed Eleanora walk in, her eyes dancing over the people in the coffee shop.

When they finally landed on Mark, she brightened, practically skipping over to him. "Good morning, Mark!"

He was going to stand up to pull out her chair, but ended up slowly sitting back down when she sat herself down, rambling on.

"This morning has been so weird. Meredith was cooking when I woke up, so not only is odd, but the fact she was cooking for Lexie? Don't get me wrong, I'm happy they're finally getting to know each other, but Meredith is not really a motherly type. Oh, and on the bus there was this guy who kept trying to make me read his book, but I told him-"

"You took the bus?" Mark interrupted, raising a brow. Eleanora nodded, scrunching her nose up in confusion at his slightly offended tone. "Nora, I could have just picked you up! There was no reason you had to take the bus."

She let out a noise, waving him off. "It's fine, truly! I kind of like the bus. Anyways, my house is in the opposite direction of the road from the hotel to the hospital. Which, by the way, you really need to start looking at places. Living in a hotel is probably getting so aggravating."

Before Mark could defend his living situation, an excited noise came from the counter. Eleanora's head snapped over to see Hannah, who had bright and excited eyes.

"Ella!"

Eleanora smiled wide, standing up to rush to the counter to greet her friend and also order some coffee and maybe a bagel. Mark leaned back in his seat with a fond look on his face, sipping at his cappuccino as he watched the two women talk.

"Hannah, hey! It's been so long, how have you been?" Eleanora gushed out, leaning on the counter slightly.

Hannah started punching away at the register, putting in Eleanora's normal coffee order as she spoke. "I've been great! Laney and I officially moved in together, and she finally got her Masters. Wanna add anything to the usual?"

Eleanora started to dig around in her pockets for the ten she knew she stuffed in there, nodding. "Oh, that's great! And a bagel with cream cheese, please."

Hannah shook her head, punching the order in. "Oh no, Pretty Boy over there already paid. Gave me $30 and said whatever was left was mine." Hannah leaned in, giving Eleanora a fake whisper. "He's a keeper."

Eleanora felt her face head up and she shook her head fast. "No, Mark and I aren't anything. Why do people keep thinking this?"

Hannah gave her an amused look, starting to go and make Eleanora's coffee and bagel. "Wow, I don't know, Ella. It completely baffles me how people could think you two are together."

Eleanora didn't pick up on her sarcasm, just going back to the table Mark was sitting at. She sat down with a little pout on her face, Mark raising a brow at her expression.