And The Pain Is Alright

And The Pain Is Alright

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In mutual pain, and in mutual comfort, Meredith Grey and Addison Montgomery are soulmates who are destined to meet.

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Meredith Grey knew about soulmates since she was three years old, and she was starting to talk, and she babbled about it.

***

Addison Montgomery never heard about soulmates until she was older. She was nearly six, and she found out rather quickly that her soulmate had a bit of a wild side.

***

Neither one of them expected the other. It was only inevitable that someday they'd meet.

And that their lives would be forever changed from then on...

(For the better?)

***

Meredith Grey heard about the soulmate phenomenon from her mother, Ellis Grey, who, secretly, was still getting bruises from her soulmate in Seattle.

When Meredith inquired about them, sat upon her mother's knee, pressing her index finger into them before her mother gently swatted her fingers away, Ellis Grey explained to her then that "these are from my soulmate, Meredith. And someday you may have some, too. When your soulmate is hurt, you feel their pain. And when you get hurt, they feel yours," as she lifted Meredith up onto her chair to pour her another bowl of cereal.

Meredith nodded, and she understood.

And from then on, she always scanned her mother's arms for the thin scars that appeared from time to time, which her mother looked at fondly, and she wondered when her own soulmate scars to appear.

(And then one day, they finally did.)

***

Addison Montgomery grew up in a family of souls made-skeptics. Her mother, Bizzy Forbes, disparaged the concept, though she occasionally had little cuts or scrapes here or there that Addison never noticed her naturally acquiring.

And her father, The Captain Montgomery, always felt that soulmatism was something that only the weak talked about, and he banned the subject from the table altogether.

And therefore, Addison only learned about the soulmate story from her brother, Archer Montgomery, who would whisper it sometimes in the yard far out of earshot of their parents.

Addison found the concept absolutely enticing, as she was always a romantic at heart, and dreamed of meeting her soulmate and marrying them.

She asked Archer if he wanted the same, but her brother just shrugged, and said he'd settle or anyone who cooked him good turkey.

Addison laughed along, and secretly hoped that perhaps her soulmate would cool her good turkey as well.

(Okay, so she was unfortunately wrong about that one, but what can you do?).

***

At the time, Meredith Grey was growing up in Boston, and Addison Montgomery was growing up in mid rural Connecticut.

They were in separate states, had totally separate lives.

And who knows who they would ever find each other?

***

When Meredith Grey was seven years old, she came home from school one day with shooting pain through her legs.

Her soulmate had been through quite an ordeal, so it seemed, and Meredith could feel the scars start to appear from her calves up to her hip bones.

Nothing was broken, luckily, but the bruising and later healing went on for several weeks.

Her mother consoled her, and told her that it's good her soulmate is getting out in the world.

Determined, Meredith nodded, and went on to climb trees in her backyard to see if she could be just as adventurous.

(She didn't fall off though, sparing her soulmate some serious headaches).

***

Having hurt her soulmate was one of the reasons Addison Montgomery cried when she fell off her bike at that time.

She bawled and bawled until her brother picked her up, and carried her all the way home.

"Thanks, Archer," said Addison, sniffling.

"No problem, sis. You better thank your soulmate someday for that, though. You took a hell of a beating," he offers with a grin.

"You think my soulmate will ever forgive me?" Addison asks him.

"Yeah, I think your soulmate will forgive you. Your soulmate has to forgive you, right?" Offers Archer.

"Thanks, brother, you're the best!" Addison smiles.

"Tell me that again!" Archer's chest puffs out in a gloat.

"Never!" Says Archer, as she hops down from the table.

"Someday you will!" Archer teases.

(Addison wonders at his point, if Archer will ever talk to her about his soulmate).

***

The years go by, with Meredith Grey swimming a bit too deep in the river and getting all out of breath.

And Addison Montgomery falling off her bike once or twice more, but never as seriously as the last time.

(The real pain begins for them in High School. Or so they think at least. The teenage years, they're never easy on anyone).

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END OF CHAPTER 1