Baby ?

The smell of Seattle Grace Hospital was usually a mix of industrial floor wax, burnt cafeteria coffee, and the metallic tang of blood. On this particular Tuesday morning, however, the locker room smelled faintly of baby powder and strawberries.

Miranda Bailey stood in the center of the room, her hands on her hips, staring down at a pile of oversized navy blue scrubs. In the center of the fabric sat a girl who looked no older than three. She had messy blonde hair, wide, soulful green-gray eyes, and she was currently drowning in a scrub top that served as a makeshift gown.

"Grey?" Bailey asked, her voice uncharacteristically high-pitched.

"I'm Meredith," the toddler chirped, reaching up with chubby fingers to tug at the 'M. Grey' ID badge still pinned to the fabric.

"Oh, dear Lord," Cristina Yang muttered, leaning against the lockers with a look of pure horror. "The universe finally did it. It broke her. She’s literally regressed to the point of no return."

"She’s adorable!" Izzie Stevens squealed, rushing forward. "Look at her cheeks! Meredith, do you want a snack? I have a granola bar."

The tiny Meredith shrank back, hiding her face in the oversized V-neck of the scrub top. "No," she mumbled, her lower lip trembling.

"She’s a medical anomaly," Alex Karev noted, though he was smirking. "Think of the Harper Avery we could get for figuring out how a twenty-something surgical intern turned into a preschooler overnight. Can we biopsy her?"

"No one is biopsying the intern, Karev!" Bailey snapped. "And Stevens, stop looming. You’re scaring her."

George O’Malley was hovering near the door, looking like he was about to faint. "What do we tell the Chief? What do we tell Derek?"

"Tell Derek what?"

The door swung open, and Derek Shepherd walked in, followed closely by Addison Montgomery. They stopped dead. Derek’s jaw dropped, his gaze flickering from the tiny blonde child to the frantic interns.

"Meredith?" Derek whispered, his heart visibly sinking into his stomach. "Is that... is that you?"

The toddler looked at Derek. She didn't offer the usual pained, longing look of a woman caught in a messy love triangle. Instead, she gave him a flat, unimpressed stare. She then turned her head toward Addison.

Addison, elegant as ever in her tailored coat, looked bewildered. "Why is everyone staring at a child in the locker room? Is this a pediatrics case?"

Tiny Meredith’s eyes lit up. Without warning, she scrambled out of the pile of scrubs, her bare feet pattering on the linoleum floor as she sprinted—as fast as a three-year-old could—straight toward the world-class neonatal surgeon. She skidded to a halt and wrapped her small arms around Addison’s knees, burying her face in the red-headed woman’s skirt.

"Addy!" the toddler muffled into the fabric.

The locker room went silent. You could have heard a suture needle drop.

"Did she just call her 'Addy'?" Alex whispered, muffled by his own hand.

"She’s hugging the woman who took her boyfriend," Cristina noted, her eyebrows reaching her hairline. "This is either the most brilliant psychological warfare ever or Meredith’s brain has turned into actual mush."

Addison stood frozen, her hands hovering awkwardly in the air. She looked down at the top of Meredith’s head. "Meredith? Honey?"

Meredith pulled back just enough to look up, her eyes shining with pure, unadulterated adoration. "You're pretty. You smell like flowers."

Addison’s heart, which she usually kept under a thick layer of professional ice and marital guilt, thawed instantly. She knelt down, ignoring the fact that her expensive skirt was touching the hospital floor. "And you... you are very small."

"I’m an intern," Meredith insisted, puffing out her chest.

"Of course you are," Addison smiled, a genuine, soft expression that Derek hadn't seen in months. She reached out and tucked a stray blonde lock behind the girl’s ear. "But maybe today you can be my assistant?"

Meredith nodded vigorously, grabbing Addison’s hand and refusing to let go.

"Wait, wait," Derek stepped forward, looking wounded. "Meredith, it’s me. It’s Derek. We... we go for walks? We have the trailer?"

Meredith looked at him, then back at Addison. She leaned closer to Addison’s ear and whispered, loud enough for everyone to hear, "He has too much hair. It’s weird."

Alex let out a bark of laughter that he quickly turned into a cough when Bailey glared at him.

"Right," Bailey sighed, rubbing her temples. "Shepherd, go do your neurosurgery. I’ll inform the Chief. Montgomery, since she seems to be the only person Meredith isn't glaring at, she’s with you. Just... don't lose her."

***

The day became a circus. News traveled fast in Seattle Grace. By noon, "Baby Grey" was the hottest topic in the hospital.

In the surgical gallery, Richard Webber stood with his arms crossed, watching through the glass as Addison sat at a desk in the neonatal ward, Meredith perched on a stool beside her, coloring on the back of some discharge papers with a highlighter.

"It’s a hormonal imbalance," Richard said, though he sounded unsure. "Or a rare reaction to a neurotoxin."

"Or it’s a miracle," Callie Torres said, leaning against the railing. She looked down at the pair. "Look at them. Addison looks like she’s actually breathing for the first time since she got to Seattle."

"It’s weird," Arizona Robbins added, popping up beside Callie. She had a bright smile on her face. "I mean, I’m Peds, I love kids. But that’s Meredith Grey. The 'dark and twisty' Meredith Grey. She’s currently wearing a pink sweater from the gift shop and eating a juice box."

Down in the ward, Meredith was pointing at a sonogram. "Is that a baby?"

"It is," Addison said patiently. "That’s a baby’s heart. See? It’s very small, just like yours."

"I want to help the babies," Meredith declared.

"You are helping," Addison replied. "You’re keeping me company. That’s a very important job for an intern."

Mark Sloan strolled into the ward, looking for a chart, but stopped when he saw the scene. He smirked, leaning against the doorframe. "Well, isn't this a domestic picture. Addison, I didn't know you’d finally replaced Derek with a miniature version of his mistress."

Meredith looked up at Mark. Her eyes narrowed. "You’re the man who hit Derek."

Mark blinked, his smirk faltering. "I—well, yes. Technically."

"You’re a bad boy," Meredith said firmly, then turned back to her coloring. "Addy, make him go away."

Addison bit back a laugh, looking up at Mark with a triumphant glint in her eyes. "You heard the intern, Mark. You’re a bad boy. Move along."

"This is ridiculous," Mark muttered, though he looked impressed. "She’s even more terrifying as a toddler."

***

Lunchtime brought the sisters. Maggie Pierce and Amelia Shepherd had heard the news and practically sprinted to the cafeteria, where Addison was helping Meredith navigate a bowl of mac and cheese.

"Oh my god," Maggie breathed, clutching her chest. "She’s so tiny! I’m the younger sister, but now I’m the older sister? My biological clock is screaming and crying at the same time."

"She’s a Shepherd-free zone," Amelia noted, crouching down to Meredith’s level. "Hey, Mer. It’s me, Amelia. We’re sisters. Sort of. In the future."

Meredith stared at Amelia, a noodle hanging from her fork. "You’re loud."

Amelia gasped, clutching her heart. "Yep, that’s Meredith. Even with a toddler's brain, she knows exactly how to cut me deep."

"She’s only listening to Addison," Izzie explained, joining the table with George and Cristina. "She cried when Derek tried to give her a teddy bear. She threw it at his head."

"It was a very accurate throw," George added, sounding slightly impressed.

"Why Addison?" Maggie asked, looking at the redhead. "No offense, Addison, but... you’re the 'other' woman in her adult life."

Addison looked down at Meredith, who had reached out to grab Addison’s sleeve, anchoring herself. "I don't know," Addison said softly. "Maybe because I’m a neonatal surgeon? I deal with babies all day. Maybe she can sense that I’m the only one here who isn't looking at her like she’s a science project or a tragedy."

Meredith looked up, her face smeared with cheese sauce. "Addy is safe," she said simply.

Cristina, who had been watching the scene with a cynical eye, suddenly felt a pang of something unidentifiable. She sat down across from them and slid a chocolate pudding cup toward Meredith.

"Grey," Cristina said firmly.

Meredith looked at her. "Cristina."

"You’re my person," Cristina said, her voice unusually thick. "Even if you’re a tiny, useless human who can’t even hold a scalpel. You better come back soon, because I am not doing your charts."

Meredith reached out and patted Cristina’s hand with a sticky palm. "Don't be sad, Cristina. We can play surgery later."

"See?" Alex said, walking by. "She’s still a freak. A cute, tiny freak."

***

As evening fell, the hospital began to quiet down. The "spell" or whatever medical anomaly had caused the transformation seemed to be wearing off. Meredith was growing sleepy, her movements becoming sluggish.

She was tucked into a small bed in a private room, but she refused to let Addison leave.

"Stay," Meredith whispered, her eyes fluttering shut.

Addison sat on the edge of the bed, stroking Meredith’s hair. Derek stood in the doorway, watching them. He looked conflicted—jealous, amazed, and profoundly sad.

"She didn't want me all day," Derek said quietly.

"She’s a child, Derek," Addison replied, not looking up. "Children don't care about grand romances or 'epic' loves. They care about who makes them feel secure. Today, that was me."

"Why you, though?"

Addison finally looked at him. "Because I didn't look at her and see a solution to my loneliness. I just saw a little girl who was scared and overwhelmed. You spent the day trying to get her to remember you so *you* could feel better. I just spent the day holding her hand."

Derek winced, the truth of the words hitting home. He turned and walked away, leaving the two of them in the quiet room.

A few minutes later, a soft glow filled the room. Addison blinked, and when she opened her eyes, the weight on the bed had changed. The pink sweater was gone, replaced by the oversized navy scrubs.

Meredith Grey, the adult version, groaned and sat up, rubbing her eyes. She looked around, confused, until her gaze landed on Addison.

"Addison?" Meredith’s voice was raspy. "Why am I in a patient room? And why do I taste... mac and cheese?"

Addison smiled, a secret, tired smile. She reached out and squeezed Meredith’s hand—a hand that was now grown, scarred from surgery, and familiar.

"It’s a long story, Meredith," Addison said. "But for what it’s worth, you were a very good intern today."

Meredith frowned, a memory flickering in the back of her mind. "I remember... flowers. And someone being 'pretty.'"

Addison blushed, standing up to smooth out her skirt. "Go back to sleep, Grey. You’ve got a long shift tomorrow. And Yang is definitely going to make you do all the charts."

As Addison walked toward the door, Meredith called out, "Addison?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks," Meredith said, though she wasn't entirely sure what she was thanking her for.

Addison nodded, stepping into the hallway. She found the "Bad Boy" Mark Sloan waiting there, along with the rest of the interns who had been hovering nearby.

"Is she back?" Cristina demanded.

"She’s back," Addison confirmed.

"Good," Alex grunted. "Because if I had to see Shepherd pout one more time because a three-year-old rejected him, I was going to throw myself off the catwalk."

As the group dispersed, trading quips and insults, Addison stood for a moment in the quiet corridor. She could still feel the phantom weight of a small hand holding hers. She looked at her reflection in the glass of the nursery window.

"Safe," she whispered to herself, a small smile playing on her lips.

Maybe Seattle wasn't so bad after all. Even if it took a little bit of magic and a very small intern to prove it.