𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘶𝘮𝘢, 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘥𝘺 - 𝙂𝙧𝙚𝙮'𝙨 𝘼𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙢𝙮 (ON HOLD)

fifty - one - "somebody sedate me" - fifty - one

"The baby you have is the baby you were destined to have. It was meant to be. That's what all the adoption people tell you, anyway. I'd like to think it's true. But everything else in the world seems so completely random. What if, one little thing, I said, or did could have made it all fall apart? What if I'd chosen another life for myself, or another person? We might have never found each other. What if I'd been raised differently? What if my mother had never been sick? What if I'd actually had a good father? What if? What if?...What..if? Your life is a gift. Accept it. No matter how screwed up or painful it seems to be. Some things are going to work out as if they were destined to happen. As if they were just meant to be."
-Meredith Grey, S8E13, "If/Then"

"There are times in our lives when love really does conquer all: exhaustion, sleep deprivation, anything. And then there are those times when it seems like love brings us nothing but pain. We're always looking for ways to ease the pain. Sometimes we ease the pain by making the best of what we have. Sometimes is by losing ourselves in the moment. And sometimes all we need to do to ease the pain is call a simple truce."
-Meredith Grey, S8E14, "All You Need is Love"

"When you've tried everything, but that headache won't go away, you can't stop coughing, the swelling won't go down... That's when you turn to a professional. As surgeons, we spend years developing skills of perception that allow us to see exactly what the problem is. The trouble is, some times all that time spent developing those skills of perception can leave a person with an extremely narrow point of view. And how are you supposed to argue with someone who has science on their side? Actually, finding out that you've been looking at things all wrong can be sort of liberating. And suddenly you see a new potential, new possibilities where you've never seen them before. And that's all fine when a hopeless situation suddenly looks good. Unfortunately, sometimes it goes the other way."
-Meredith Grey, S8E15, "Have You Seen Me?"

"As surgeons we're trained to consult with each other to get opposing views. We even encourage patients to seek second opinions. But why seek a second opinion when you know that you're right? Because if we're honest with ourselves, the surgeons are more like cowboys. We're more likely to go it alone. You can seek the advice of others, surround yourself with trusted advisers. But in the end, the decision is always yours, and yours alone. And when it's time to act, you're all alone with your back against the wall. The only voice that matters is the one in your head. The one telling you what you probably already knew. The one that's almost always right."
-Meredith Grey, S8E16, "If Only You Were Lonely"

Meredith sat on Anna's bed, listening to her read off of the index cards, answering the questions and scenarios expertly. Anna set the cards down, "Callie's already trained you how to answer their questions. You don't need to just study with yourself. Study with Alex, Cristina, April, and Jackson. You need to help each other."

"They have their own study groups." Meredith shook her head, "If they wanted to study with me, they would've asked."

"They're trying to use Lexie as a encyclopedia. Help them." Anna hands her the cards back and Meredith nods, "I'll figure something out."

Anna gave her a thumbs up, "A plus. Gold star. Whatever."

"The boards are almost here. I'm just nervous."

"You have nothing to worry about. You'll be fine. You've answered all of Callie's questions correctly."

"Thank you, Anna." Meredith put her hand over her stepdaughter's, looking her in the eyes before smiling.

Anna nodded, a small smile on her face. Derek opened Anna's door, making it creak, as he held Zola in his arms, "How's it going in here?"

"We're done." Meredith stood up, smiling, reaching out for Zola as Derek passed her to her mother.