season six // episode sixteen
[ the big bad wolf ]
❝Harper Avery is your
grandfather? And London is
Dr. Halloway's daughter?❞
𝐀𝐒 𝐀 𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐃, 𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐒 𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 read her many stories before bed in an attempt to get her tired enough to fall asleep. Many of those stories were children's tales, including 'The Three Little Pigs'. If asked, she would say that she hardly remembered the actual story of 'The Three Little Pigs', but she could remember the big bad wolf.
He was the antagonist of the story and London often remembered the antagonists more than the protagonists.
The reason for that was simple. She always felt that her father was the antagonist of her story. For her older siblings' entire life, he had put immense pressure on them to follow in his and their mother's footsteps of becoming surgeons.
Someone to pass the family legacy to.
But Henry refused and instead chose to study education when he attended the University of Oregon, fleeing across the country to escape his overbearing father and his expectations. As a result, he was removed from the inheritance that he was set to receive when Arthur and Josephine Halloway passed away, despite the latter's protests.
"He is still your son!" Josephine would shout at her husband and he turned away from his wife. "Your son, Arthur!"
"Not if he doesn't want to be a surgeon." Is what he would reply.
It was at that moment that McKenna agreed to change her major and apply to college on the pre-med track rather than what her heart truly wanted—to study music. Instead of attending UCLA, she found herself at Columbia University with an overbearing father and stacks of books that seemed to fill every square inch of her small dorm room.
She had hoped that if she followed in her parents' footsteps, then London wouldn't have to. She could be raised in a happy household—with a present father—and choose whatever career she wished.
Unfortunately, that did not happen.
London was five years old when her father began planting the idea that she would become a surgeon one day. She was thirteen years old when her father gave her a pamphlet about her first potential college—Harvard—and the end goal of being accepted into medical school.
She was nineteen when she was accepted to Harvard and twenty-three when she began her internship at Mercy West.
To put it simply, London Halloway never had control over her own life and career path.
"Hey, you two haven't seen Jackson yet, by any chance, have you?" she asked, hurrying to catch up with Meredith and Derek who were walking in the direction of the ER. "Because I've been trying to call him, tell him that I picked up the movies for our little marathon tonight, but his phone keeps going straight to voicemail."
Meredith shook her head. "I haven't. Sorry."
London sighed and peered around the blonde at the new chief of surgery. "Why do you look so stressed?" she asked him, noticing the creasing around his forehead. "If you're going into the ER, it's probably for a head injury and you've seen those thousands of times before."
"It's not—"
"Where is my daughter?" London froze at the sound of the voice and Meredith ran into her back, quirking an eyebrow upward. "She should be here. So where is she?"
"No, no, no, no, no," she muttered, frantically shaking her head and backing into a nearby wall. "No, no, he's not here. Not today. It can't be today."
Meredith glanced at her. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"Dr. Halloway, London is busy," they heard Jackson say and London poked her head into the doorway of the ER, seeing her father standing with her best friend and—
"Oh, my God..." she whispered, her eyes shifting to the man occupying the bed. "No, no, this is not happening today."
Arthur's gaze found the doorway and her eyes widened, quickly hiding behind the wall. "London, you're being rude," he said and she closed her eyes. "Is this how you would treat a patient? They can't tell you what's wrong if you're not here."
Sucking in a shaky breath, London pushed herself off the wall and walked slowly toward the three men. "I—Sorry," she said quietly, fidgeting with her fingers. "Sorry, Dad."
Arthur turned away. "Now, where are your manners?" he asked and she glanced up at him. "Get him some water."
"Oh, of—of course," she replied with a nod, hurrying out of the ER. "I—I'm sorry."
"And get a new doctor!" London glanced back at Harper Avery. "This one doesn't seem to have a pulse." Her gaze shifted to Cristina and she nodded. "I was beginning to wonder when I'd see you again, London."
She bit the inside of her cheek and cleared her throat. "Hello, Dr. Avery."
"Harper Avery is your grandfather? And London is Dr. Halloway's daughter?" was the last thing she heard from Cristina as the doors closed behind her.
___________________________
"𝐃𝐈𝐃 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 the cafeteria?" Arthur asked once London had returned with two cups of water in her hands. "I was beginning to think that you were avoiding us."
She cleared her throat and glanced at Jackson. "No," she replied, shaking her head. "I—I was just finding the best water for you."
"And stop stuttering so much," Arthur continued and Jackson looked over at her. "A good doctor does not stutter. It does not give off the confidence that they know what they're doing."
She nodded and stepped to the side beside Jackson. "I'm sorry," he said and she looked up at him. "I was going to warn you, but then he joined our breakfast at the last minute. And then he collapsed, so there wasn't enough time."
"It's not your fault," she replied, shaking her head. "You had other things on your mind." She took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "I'm sorry they know you're related to him."
"You, too."
"Is it me or are those two women terribly annoying?" Harper Avery asked, looking to the pair next to them—both of them shouting to communicate.
Arthur nodded. "They are both incredibly loud," he added.
"Dad!"
"What?" he replied with a shrug. "I'm just stating facts."
Bailey chuckled nervously. "Uh, my apologies, Dr. Avery and Dr. Halloway. We're working on getting you up to your own room as soon as poss—"
"You said that ten minutes ago," Arthur told her and London sighed, looking apologetically at Bailey. "Are you the same Shepherd who did the clinical trial on the gliomas?"
Derek, standing at the foot of the bed with Meredith, nodded. "Yes, sir."
Harper looked at Bailey. "You brought me a neurosurgeon for some abdominal cramps?" he asked her.
"No, I—I—Dr. Shepherd is our chief of surgery, sir," Bailey replied.
"I don't need a cruise director," he said and London spared a glance at her father who seemed to be watching the chaos inside a trauma room. She followed her gaze and it landed on Oliver and Cristina working alongside Owen Hunt. "I need an experienced surgeon. Page Dr. Grey."
London and Jackson both looked at Meredith who looked around. "I'm Dr. Grey."
Harper and Arthur both laughed and it made London feel slightly uneasy; her father hardly ever laughed.
"Either the world's most talented plastic surgeon works here or you're not Ellis Grey," Harper said and Meredith nodded.
"She was my mother," she replied. "She passed away."
Harper's smile faltered. "Oh. I—I didn't know. Uh, my condolences."
"Well, there has to be somebody in this godforsaken hospital who can help him," Arthur said and London hid behind her hand. "Oh. What about Richard Webber? I spoke to him not that long ago. He's still here, isn't he?"
Derek looked back at him. "Uh... Yes. Uh—Unfortunately, he is, uh, he is not available today," he replied and London frowned ever so slightly; that was one way to put it.
"Push two of Ativan," Owen said, coming out of the trauma room and London looked over at them. "Shepherd, let's get him on his side. Cristina, watch that neck."
"Oh, my God!" one of them exclaimed—extremely loudly—and London and Jackson glanced at each other; could anything go right today? "What are they doing to that man?"
Blood squirted out and hit Cristina in the mouth. "Oh! Okay, applying pressure."
"Get him back into the room!"
Derek sighed and pulled out his phone. "I'll page Dr. Webber..."
___________________________
𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐍 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐇𝐈𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆. 𝐈𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒 one of her many coping mechanisms when it came to her father and the unnecessary pressure that he put on her. When she was younger, she hid out in her bedroom, hardly ever coming out unless absolutely necessary.
But being in the same hospital as him made it a bit more difficult to hide.
"Why are you in a supply closet?" Lexie asked, opening the door and seeing the brunette on the floor with several charts piled beside her. "Are you working in here?"
She shrugged. "Just until Dr. Avery is discharged from the hospital," she replied, opening a new chart and beginning to fill it out. "I would say until my father leaves, but he just checked into a hotel, so that won't happen any time soon."
"Aren't you on Bailey's service today?" she asked, searching the shelves for the supplies she needed. "Do you really think she'd let you hide away in a supply closet for the entire day?"
"Well, considering she's already met my father, she agreed," London said, letting out a breath. "And Dr. Avery wants Webber to do his surgery, not her, so there won't be much for either of us to do."
Lexie nodded. "Oh, right. I was actually sent to find you." She quirked an eyebrow upward. "Your father is looking for you."
She sighed. "Of course he is..."
"And last I saw, he was talking to Oliver," Lexie added making London look up at her. "Thought you'd want to know."
"Damn it."
Gathering the charts in her arms, London left the supply closet and began wandering around the hospital in search of her father—huh, that was a first. When she finally found him, he was sitting at a table in the cafeteria with Oliver and she paused.
"Ah, there you are," Arthur said, noticing his daughter and Oliver looked behind him, his gaze settling on the brunette who suddenly looked as though she was a four-year-old girl. He furrowed his brows and glanced back at the elder Halloway. "Have you been hiding again? How many times have I told you that it's rude of you to hide when you have guests?"
She swallowed the growing lump in her throat as she slowly walked closer to her father and Oliver. "I—I'm sorry, I just—I didn't know you were coming."
"Again with the stuttering!" he exclaimed and she closed her eyes. "How will anybody ever respect you as a surgeon if you can't even say an entire sentence without stuttering?"
London let out a small breath. "I'm sorry," she said again, playing with her fingers once more. "I wasn't expecting you to come today. That's all."
Arthur nodded. "Well, I'm here now. And you'll be scrubbing in on Harper's surgery." She looked up in confusion, shaking her head. "He personally asked for you. Do you realize what an honor that is for him to ask for you?"
"I imagine it would be more of an honor if it was somebody who had not grown up with his grandson," she replied quietly before clearing her throat. "But I thought he asked for Dr. Webber to perform the surgery. I'm supposed to be with Dr. Bailey today."
He waved off the issue and stood up. "Oh, not to worry. I have it all taken care of." She glanced at him. "And I will be in the observation deck." She nodded wordlessly. "Thank you for the conversation," he said to Oliver who had been watching London and he nodded before Arthur turned to his daughter once more. "I will see you when it's time for surgery. In the meantime, I must have a word with Dr. Webber."
"Of course you do..." she whispered to herself, collapsing in his now-vacant seat across from Oliver at the table. She let out a frustrated groan and held her head in her hands, massaging her scalp in stress.
"So..." London glanced up at the sound of Oliver's voice and found him looking at her with soft eyes. "That's the man who—"
"Adopted me and then promptly forgot to raise me?" she finished before nodding. "Yep. Arthur Halloway in the flesh."
"And does he...?" He hesitated briefly and cleared his throat. "Does he always criticize you? I mean, who tells somebody to stutter less?"
She let out a breath. "He finds these little flaws about you and he—he tells you ways to fix yourself. 'A surgeon can't stutter, London'; 'Where are your manners, London? Get him some water'." She scoffed and shook her head. "Nothing I do will ever be good enough for him. I learned that a long time ago."
London stood up from the table with a sigh and rubbed her temple, opening the doors to leave the cafeteria. Oliver wanted to call out to her, say something that would make her feel better. But he didn't. And when he finally looked up—she was gone.
___________________________
𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐏𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘'𝐒 𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐘, London's mind was hardly in the right place. She had requested—privately, therefore her father would not hear—to Richard that she not do any difficult work, to only assist when necessary and he had agreed. Thankfully, she had made the right decision as she found herself looking up to the gallery every so often to find her father watching her intently.
Every time she locked eyes with the man, she returned her attention to the surgical legend open on the table.
Jackson's mind hardly seemed to be on his grandfather's surgery either. He found himself looking at London more often than not, worried that she would break under her father's stern gaze. He had known her long—and well—enough to know just how much influence Arthur Halloway had over his youngest child.
And it wasn't a pretty sight.
Immediately after his surgery was done, London was the first to leave the OR and she let out a heavy sigh, removing the mask from her face.
"He was taking notes," she whispered, closing her eyes and shaking her head. She looked over and saw Jackson standing in the doorway. "He was taking notes, Jackie. Which means he's going to want to sit down with me and complain about everything I did wrong. Just like when I was five and drew outside of the lines."
He sighed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. "Just remember one thing, London." She glanced at him. "You're Josephine Halloway's daughter, too. And she was pretty great. And you're McKenna Halloway's younger sister—a general surgeon who is killing it right now. And Henry Halloway's younger sister who knew that he had to leave to be happy. He's one man, London. One man. That's it."
"One man who still manages to freak me out every time he visits," she replied in a hushed tone, pressing her lips together. "I shouldn't have become a doctor." She shook her head, pushing herself off the wall and away from Jackson. "I just shouldn't. I should've been like Henry and been disowned. That'd have been so much easier."
"You should listen to that voicemail again!" Jackson called after her and she paused, turning her head back to look at him. "I think you need to listen to it, London."
She blinked rapidly and he nodded. "Okay."
Rubbing her nose, London made her way up to the resident's lounge and walked over to her cubby, standing in front of it. With a sigh, she dug through her bag in search of her phone, finally pulling it out. She sat down on the bench and stared at the device in her hands.
"He's right," she said to herself with a nod. "Of course he's right, it's Jackie."
London let out a breath and clicked the familiar contact name, bringing the phone up to her ear, and letting the voice echo in her mind.
"Hi, Londy Lou, it's your mama." She closed her eyes, feeling tears start to well in them. "I assumed this would go straight to voicemail since you're busy being an amazing surgical resident. I'm so proud of you, sweetheart.
"I know you only went into med school to please your father, but I do hope that a part of you did this for yourself as well. And I know that you're father can be a... trying man, but he's not the reason you should do anything in your life. Do it for yourself, London. It always has to be for yourself.
"So, if there's a day where you decide that you want to quit and become a scuba instructor, then I'll support you." London chuckled tearfully. "And if you want to continue being a surgeon, I'm going to be your number one cheerleader. I'll call you again tomorrow. I love you, Londy Lou."
"I love you more..." she whispered, her voice breaking at the end.
___________________________
"𝐈 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 confident chief today," Oliver said, leaning in the doorway of his brother's office and Derek looked up at his voice. "Be honest... how terrified were you of yelling at Harper Avery?"
He shrugged. "I did what had to be done." Oliver nodded and walked further into the office, sitting down on the couch beside the window. "Can I help you with something?"
"No," Oliver replied, shaking his head. "I just—wanted to say thank you for not pointing out all of my flaws."
Derek furrowed his brows. "You're... welcome?"
"And for being a good person to look up to," Oliver added making his brother even more confused. "I don't know. I guess... I just realized that some people have it a bit more complicated than we do."
"Ah." Derek nodded and leaned back in his chair. "You mean London and her father?" he asked and Oliver glanced at him. "I ran into him, he wanted to know where she was."
"Did you tell him?"
He shook his head. "I figured if she wanted him to know where she was, she'd tell him herself," he replied. "There's something about her, isn't there? That you like?"
"I'm not very subtle, am I?"
Derek chuckled softly. "No," he said, shaking his head. "Not in the slightest. But, I think you're like me in that way."
Oliver tilted his head. "You did kind of give it away whenever you were with Mer," he told him with a small smile. "It was sickening, by the way."
"Well, I'm sorry."
Oliver looked down. "Can I ask you something?" Derek nodded. "Why are you harder on me and Amy than anyone else?" he asked quietly. "I mean it. You—" He let out a breath. "You don't treat Amy like she knows what she's doing in surgery—when she does—and... you don't treat me like any other resident."
Derek sighed. "I don't know," he replied softly with a shrug. "I—I really don't. I don't mean to."
"But you do," Oliver said to him, looking up. "I'm not asking that you give me special treatment because I'm your brother, I just... I want to be like any other resident. I'd rather you don't look annoyed whenever I'm on your service. Because... it kinda hurts seeing that look on your face every time."
He stood up and walked to the door. "Ollie—" He paused, turning back to look at his brother. "I'll do better. I promise."
Oliver nodded and closed the door behind him, letting out a breath. "Well... that went well... I think..."
___________________________
𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 hotel lobby where her father was staying and ran through the many words in her head. Saying it to herself was one thing, saying it to her father was another.
And much more difficult.
With a nod, she pushed through the revolving doors and into the lobby, looking around at the grand marble design that welcomed her inside. She walked in the direction of the lounge and made her way inside, finding her father sitting in a leather armchair with a newspaper spread across his lap, one leg crossed over the other. A cup of tea sat in one hand while the other flipped through the newspaper.
The reason she preferred tea over coffee.
"Ah, I see you received my message," Arthur said once his sight had settled on his daughter and motioned for her to join him in the armchair across from him. "Thank you for coming."
"You didn't really ask," she replied quietly, sitting down and laying her coat across her lap, playing with the zipper. "I heard Dr. Avery is going to be transferred to his hospital in Boston once he's well enough to transport. I suppose that means you'll be going with him?"
"Yes." Arthur nodded and she internally let out a breath of relief. "Just as soon as I visit McKenna and catch up with her."
London strained a smile. "Does she know that you'll be coming?"
"No."
She will now.
"Now, as for the reason I asked you here," Arthur said and she mentally prepared for what was to come. "Your involvement in Harper's surgery yesterday evening." He pulled out the paper he had been writing on during the operation and began chewing on the inside of her cheeks. "Only a few things that I think you could improve on."
"Well, that's what the attendings are for," she told him and he looked at her. "To—To give me notes on my education."
"Stuttering, London," he reminded her and she sighed, leaning back in her chair. "As I was saying... You seemed awfully distracted during the procedure. I understand he was awake for his surgery, but that's hardly any excuse for distractions. Distractions can lead to fatal mistakes."
She nodded, unimpressed. "It wasn't Dr. Avery..." she muttered under her breath.
"Secondly," Arthur continued, not having heard her small quip. "Why did you never tell me that you were working with Ellis Grey's daughter?"
London shrugged and clicked her tongue. "It never came up."
"I worked with her mother quite a few times," he said. "If she's anything like Ellis, she has quite a gift."
"Or maybe, she's Meredith Grey, not Ellis."
Arthur tilted his head. "And thirdly..." London rolled her eyes and held her head in her hand. "That—That Oscar—was that his name?—the brother of the neurosurgeon Shepherd—"
"Oliver."
He nodded. "Yes. Him."
"Yeah, what about him?" she asked, crossing her arms.
"I want you to stay away from him," he replied, putting away his piece of paper and she furrowed her brows with a small scoff.
"What? Why?"
"I think he'll be a distraction to your education," he said and she stared back at him in disbelief. "I saw the way you looked at him when you thought I was gone. And I know what that look is. Nothing good ever comes from that look."
London scoffed under her breath and stood up. "Unbelievable," she muttered, putting on her jacket. "You know, I've put up with a lot of crap from you over the years, but this is where I draw the line. You scared away Jake—"
"I thought it was John."
"—and you scared away any potential boyfriends that McKenna had," she continued. "Because nobody can live up to your insane, fucking expectations. Look around you, Dad, the entire is flawed. Including you. And do you know what your worst flaw is? That on the outside, you look like a lovable human being—a loving father, and husband—but really... you're the big bad wolf. The antagonist of the story. Congratulations, Dad... you've ruined every good thing you've ever had in your sad, pathetic life."
"I'm your father," he said and she looked back at him. "You can't speak to me that way."
"Fathers raise their daughters," she replied, shaking her head. "But you didn't do that, so... yes, I can speak to you that way. Have a safe flight. Don't call me."
She turned on her heel and walked out of the hotel lobby, feeling incredibly light—as though a giant weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
See? she thought to herself. This is what happens when you don't follow the words you thought of beforehand.
She shrugged and continued down the sidewalk, away from the hotel. "Oh, well."
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━ author's note
oh, this is not the end of the annoying human being that is arthur halloway... there's a lot more in store for him in this book
but i'm like a proud mama watching london stand up for herself
and, if there's one thing to know about the shepherd men, when they meet the woman they're going to marry, they fall hard and fast (but you can't really blame them, have you seen london and meredith?)