⇢ CHAPTER 31

Harper Avery is here?" Lexie and Holly asked in unison as they joined Cristina and Meredith, who were walking down the hall together.

Cristina groaned, recalling her memory of misdiagnosing him, and Meredith chuckled, "So Derek walked in on her naked this morning in Alex's bed."

Holly snorted and hid a laugh behind her hand as Cristina openly laughed at Lexie as Lexie shouted, "Meredith!"

Meredith laughed, "What? Oh," She gestured at Cristina, "I'm just cheering her up. She's having a bad day. Be generous"

"I thought you stopped sleeping with him." Holly said after calming herself down, "Oh!" She pointed an accusing finger at Lexie, "You said you were going to leave early to get on extra cases!"

"Okay!" Lexie brought her hands up in defense, "I lied, so what?"

"You know what?" Cristina commented, "You can't be having feelings for Karev." She pointed at Meredith, "He's like Meredith three years ago."

"I said that." Meredith smiled, nudging Cristina with wide eyes.

"I don't have feelings for Alex." Lexie defended.

Holly shrugged, "Yet."

Lexie's mouth dropped at the betrayal as Cristina continued, "You do. Your heart's like, in your vagina."

Meredith nudged Cristina again, "I said that.

Cristina turned her head at Meredith, "Oh, my God."

"You are both monsters." Lexie gestured at Cristina and Meredith before looking at Holly, "You've betrayed me."

"I--" Holly followed after Lexie as she shook her head, "I am not a betrayer!"

✧

"I don't get it." Lexie spoke, passing a granola bar to Holly as they looked down from the gallery, "Why does he get to scrub in on his own grandfather's awake surgery?"

Holly shrugged as she opened the granola bar and began to eat it and Cristina answered, "The same reason why Harper Avery personally requested Meredith to be his resident."

"Nepotism sucks." Alex commented as Holly sank in her seat, frowning her eyebrows as she wanted to say that Harper Avery possibly chose Meredith and Jackson because they were good surgeons, "Hey," Alex leaned in and whispered to Lexie, "you, uh, want to go grab a bite?"

"No." Lexie chuckled, darting her eyes at Holly for a second before looking forward and whispering back to Alex, "Actually, I am..." She cleared her throat, "full."

"Really?" Alex continued, not buying it as Holly quirked an eyebrow as she ate another bite, "'Cause you didn't seem full last night."

Lexie chuckled again, "I said no. Okay, I-I-I am not hungry at all." Cristina cleared her throat as Holly facepalmed, "So just go eat alone."

Alex leaned back in his chair as Charles made his way through the small crowd at the entrance of the gallery, "Excuse me. Sorry."

Cristina glared at Charles, who stood in the front instead of sitting, and said, "Hey, down in front, Bigfoot."

"Oh," Charles brought his head down as he smiled sarcastically, "it's Bigfoot now." He sat down a seat away from Holly as he went on, "Well, you know what they say about guys with big feet."

"Yeah." Holly nodded, "They have big shoes."

The doctors in the gallery chuckled, which made Holly frown her eyebrows as she thought it wasn't a funny joke, and Cristina asked Charles about her daredevil before rushing out of the room.

✧

"Hey." Holly greeted with a smile as she sat down next to Jackson in the waiting room. Since Harper Avery went back into surgery on Shepherd's terms, Jackson wasn't able to operate, "Any news on your grandpa?"

"Not yet." Jackson answered, letting out a big exhale before he looked over at her accusingly, "Are you gonna ask to meet my grandfather before or after they come with news?"

"Neither." Holly answered, frowning her eyebrows, "I don't want to meet him." He tilted his head, "I mean," She chuckled, "don't get me wrong, I would to meet him, but I think I'd pass out from excitement so I'd rather not." She shrugged, "I came here as a friend and bearing gifts."

She brought her hand forward, passing him a cup of coffee she bought from the stand before making her way to him. He looked down at the cup before glancing back at her face, a hand hesitantly reaching out to the cup as he nodded, "Sorry."

"It's okay." Holly nodded, "I get it. You want to be seen as yourself instead of having people see you as 'Harper Avery's grandson' and it's annoying having people ask to see him." She shrugged, looking down at her shoes, "April and I went to the same elementary and middle school and I was just one grade below her-- yet somehow, I'd get all of the teachers she did. All of them praising my sister and asking why I couldn't be like her-- some classmates even asked me to have April tutor them of how much the teachers praised her." She looked up at Jackson with a smile, oblivious to the soft look he had on his face, "I mean, I don't think it's the same as being related to a famous surgeon," She chuckled, "but I get where you're coming from."

✧

"I'm gonna pass out. I'm gonna pass out. I'm--"

"You're not gonna pass out." Lexie assured, holding onto Holly's arm as they waited outside Harper Avery's room, "I cannot we're about to meet Harper Avery."

Holly chuckled, "April's gonna be sad she missed this." She exhaled as she whispered, "He's just another guy, he's no one important. I am going to pass out."

"All right." Jackson announced, looking back at his friends from his grandfather's room, "Hurry up. Come on."

"We met," Cristina started, "um, uh..."

"Oh, yeah." Harper Avery nodded, remembering the inaccurate diagnosis from the morning.

"A-Already this morning, and I, um, you were--" Harper Avery laughed as Cristina continued stammering, "I was..." She began to laugh too.

"Spit it out, Yang." Alex muttered from the back of the line, making Holly hold in a laugh.

"There was, uh, so much going on." Cristina laughed, reaching out to shake his hand.

"Start with your name, and we'll go from there." Harper Avery smiled.

"Cristina Yang." Cristina smiled, "It's, uh, it's an honor, sir. It's, um--"

"It's nice to..." Harper Avery stopped himself as Cristina quickly brought out her phone and took a selfie with him.

"Thank you so much." Cristina smiled one last time before backing away, letting Lexie greet him as Harper Avery frowned his eyebrows in confusion from what just happened.

"...officially meet you, Dr. Yang." Harper Avery trailed off, looking at the others in the line, "And the rest of you?"

"Uh, Lexie Grey." Lexie smiled, shaking his hand before walking back.

"H-Hi, Dr. Harper Avery." Holly smiled warmly with a hint of nervousness, shaking hands with the legend, "I'm Holly Kepner."

Harper Avery smiled, shaking her hand, "Nice to meet you, Dr. Kepner."

She backed away, joining Lexie and Cristina as she let out a breath of nervousness as Jackson leaned over to whisper, "See, you didn't faint."

Holly nudged him with an eye roll, "I still could. You never know."

Both of them chuckled as Alex and Charles greeted themselves to Harper Avery-- oblivious to Harper Avery's knowing smile at the two close together.

✧✧✧

harper avery knows what's up ✨