To when I return

16. Christopher Ryan Alexander

Flashback

"Grey" She answers the phone. It's Amelia. Lexie still recognized the number after eight years. It is beginning of August 2016 and Amelia Shepherd called her in the middle of the night.

"Lexie? Oh my god you answered!" She says before breaking into full sobs and soon followed a scream of pain.

"Amelia? Everything okay?"

"No. Nothing is okay. Ryan is dead. I'm alone and in labor and no-one answers my calls. Except you and somehow that makes the least sense in all this."

"Amelia where are you?"

"St. Ambrose, L.A."

"How far along are you?"

"Five centimetres."

"Okay. I'll be there as soon as possible. For the time being: breath." I say and cut the call. I go and wake Jo up, tell her that I have an emergency at the hospital, and I have to go. Which is technically not a lie because St. Ambrose is also a hospital.

She arrives at the hospital in L.A, and she gets directed to Amelia's room. And she is screaming in pain.

"How far along are you?" Lexie asks trying to make her appearance clear to Amelia.

"Seven centimetres" The nurse says.

"You got to be kidding me!" Amelia yells at her.

Lexie starts laughing at her. "Good to see you still have that temper."

"Wait. You really came? You are Lexie Grey? As the girl I used to call my best friend, Lexie Grey?"

"Sorry?"

Amelia starts to cry. Then scream in pain. Then cry and so on and so on. Soon The healthy baby boy was born.

"So... What is his name?" Lexie asks, not sure what else to do.

"Christopher Ryan Alexander Shepherd." Amelia answers whit out hesitation.

"Alexander?" Lexie questions.

"You showed up. I called my mom, Derek, Addison, Meredith Cristina, Claine, Helen and Ellis. Damn it I called even Mark, and no-one answered. I didn't expect you to answer. You disappeared and none of us knew where you went and why. You disappeared and still you were the one to answer me. You even came here from wherever you have been past decade, so I didn't have to be alone."

"Oh."

"I guess they thought I would ask for money to drugs."

"How long have you been sober?"

Amelia looks at her with a bit of concern.

"Think about this as a meeting. Anonymous. I promise." Lexie tells.

"What do you know about AA" Amelia's voice turns bit cold.

"Alcoholic. Been sober for eight years."

"About nine months. I went to rehab after Ryan died out of overdose. Damn it! How am I going to pay for that now when I need to make living for this little one?" Amelia tries to hold on to her tears by focusing on the small boy in her arms.

"I'm sorry." Lexie gives her small smile.

"You've been an alcoholic since we were teenager?"

"You don't see what you don't want to believe in. I can count the weekends with my fingers when I wasn't so drunk that would remember something from Friday night till Sunday morning after Mark had left for college. Damn it I was drunk in middle of clear day in school and no one noticed. When you have a problem you hide it as well as you can. No-one can see what you're really going through. Around spring break 2008 Link basically forced me to rehab. The two weeks I spent there was the worst and best in my life."