CODING ━ grey's anatomy

chapter sixty three

"I did, but—"

"Let me get this straight... after I explicitly stated, several times, that I did not want to move in with you... you thought it would be a good idea to buy the apartment directly across the hall from my own?"

Mark awkwardly pursed his lips. "Surprise?"

Cassie just stared at him, stone faced.

"It's nice to meet you," the blonde interrupted with a grin after an uncomfortable lull in conversation. "I'm Arizona Robbins."

Cassie looked at her, attempting to smile back with a curt wave. "Cassie Harper."

With one last glance at Mark, she turned on her heel, storming back into the bathroom and slamming the door with a bang.

Mark briefly looked down at the breakfast he'd made for her, before taking the plate and dumping the contents into the trash can.

"She's pretty," Arizona smiled, popping a grape into her mouth as Callie and Cristina nodded in agreement. "I like her."

☆

Her head tilted back as she looked up at the front of the hospital, Cassie didn't move a muscle, waiting for the knot in her stomach to untwist before going inside.

If she were completely honest, Cassie didn't miss being a surgeon. Every time she so much as thought about surgery, a flash of Lily's dead body clouded her vision. She didn't want to come back to work.

But with Cristina Yang and Meredith Grey as her friends, she didn't really end up having a choice in the matter. Cassie just hoped that Webber would refuse to give her the job back.

Taking a deep breath, she eventually put one foot in front of the other, keeping her head down as she made her way up to the Chief's office. Knocking on the door twice, she waited a moment before letting herself in.

"I told you, Shepherd," Webber grumbled without looking up from his paperwork. "I'm busy."

"Oh, um, sorry, I can come back later," Cassie quickly apologized, moving to close the door before she was stopped.

"Harper?" he questioned, sitting up straight. "No, no, it's alright. Come on in. Have a seat."

Reluctantly, Cassie did as told, sitting across from him with her ankles crossed. She fidgeted with the long sleeves of her top, her gaze fitting around the room nervously.

She really didn't want to come back.

"I'm sorry for bothering you, I just—"

"No need," Webber held a hand up in the air, reaching down for a moment as she frowned. He came back up with Cassie's lab coat and ID badge, folded together neatly. "Dr. Sloan already talked to me. Welcome back."

Brows furrowing in confusion, she looked pointedly at the white coat as she spoke. "I-I'm sorry, what?"

Shrugging, Webber removed the glasses from his face. "Well, the day you quit, Dr. Sloan told me not to process your resignation. He was confident that you'd come back." Sending her a kind smile, he pushed the lab coat closer to her. "I'm glad he was right. With the merger coming up here in a few weeks, I'm glad to know that I have at least one reliable resident on my staff, that I can count on to help bring our hospitals together."