dical Center.
Seeing redith trembling and hiding there, peeking out, Adam's first thought was that Mr. Harper had lost it.
But then he heard a roar.
"Don't touch !"
"You incompetent quacks!"
"How many tis have I told you not to bother
while I'm working?!"
Adam relaxed a little.
It was a woman's voice—and not a high-pitched, cutesy one either.
So it probably wasn't Mr. Harper going nuts.
Hmm…
Then again, he thought about the future—so eight-foot-tall dude sitting in an internet café, switching between a squeaky little-girl voice to climb the ranks with his buddies and a soft, gentle tone to chat with his girlfriend. Or that sleazy troll from The Big Bang Theory—the one who ruined Howard and Bernadette's relationship by rcilessly clicking away under the Soul Bridge in World of Warcraft. In real life, that guy turned out to be just a gross old fat dude from Caltech's equipnt departnt, where Howard worked.
So yeah, without seeing soone face-to-face, you can never be sure.
To confirm, Adam quickly rounded the corner and took a look.
There was a middle-aged woman sitting on a gurney, yelling her head off and thrashing around.
Cristina, Izzie, George, and the others nearby looked like they'd just seen a ghost.
"That's Dr. Ellis Grey!"
"Didn't she go to the Mayo Clinic?"
"I heard she was with the United Nations."
"Soone said she's been traveling the world, gathering material for a groundbreaking dical book."
"How did she end up like this?"
"Maybe she's lost it. For soone as proud as her, it's not shocking she'd fall this far."
"Yeah, genius and madness are just a hair's breadth apart, right?"
"Poor Dr. redith Grey, though. That's Alzheir's."
"…"
All sorts of hushed chatter reached Adam's ears.
He got the picture right away.
This was redith's mom—the idol of Cristina and Izzie, a legendary female doctor who'd pioneered a slew of famous surgical techniques and authored multiple textbooks.
Ellis Grey!
The Mayo Clinic's widely regarded as the top dical center in the U.S.
The UN's World Health Organization? A globally renowned hub.
Only the biggest nas in dicine end up at places like those.
And Ellis Grey? She'd been invited to both—repeatedly, with open arms.
That alone spoke volus about her status in the global dical community.
But now, with all her achievents, she'd been struck by Alzheir's—a near-terminal disease—leaving her unable to rember who she was, where she was, or what she was doing.
No wonder redith was trembling and hiding, too shaken to step forward.
Back in the day, people saw redith as "the daughter of the legendary Grey." It was mostly envy or jealousy.
She'd always say—or at least hint—that she didn't want to be the daughter of a legend.
But deep down, she was proud of it.
That sense of identity had been carved into her bones after d school.
Not every d student has to buy textbooks written by their own mom, learn intricate techniques their mom invented, or hear classmates and professors constantly rave about how amazing their mom is.
And now? She was just a pitiful figure others felt sorry for.
The more dazzling her mom's past, the sharper the contrast redith felt now.
Adam shook his head and turned to leave.
He still had three patients to check on—no ti to deal with this ss.
---
An hour later.
After rounding on his three patients, Adam was about to head to the ER when George—looking like a headless chicken—stopped him.
"Adam, help
out, man."
George's face was a mix of desperation and despair. "I can't handle Dr. Grey."
"Which Dr. Grey?" Adam asked, already knowing George had, as usual, gotten himself tangled in so drama. He couldn't resist a little jab.
"Ellis Grey—redith's mom," George clarified. "She's got Alzheir's, and now she's having intermittent cramps, pain, and diarrhea. Dr. Bailey told
to examine her, but she thinks I'm her husband. She's treating
like we're playing so doctor dress-up ga. She won't let
check her—she keeps telling
to stay out of her way because she's 'working.'"
"Well, damn, George O'Malley!" Adam blinked, his expression turning sly. "I've gotta hand it to you. In novels, you've got fiancées cheating, fiancés mourning for a decade before marrying the daughter—that's already wild enough. But your seamless, no-delay move here? That's next-level, man. Makes the other stuff look amateur."
"What are you even talking about?!" George groaned, exasperated. "She's just confused. I apparently look a little like her ex-husband."
"You look like redith's dad?" Adam nearly burst out laughing. "Who told you that? redith?"
"No," George said, his face crumpling again. "The chief did. He's old friends with redith's mom."
"Oh, good," Adam said, nodding.
"What's good?" George asked, confused.
"Good that it's the chief saying it," Adam replied, barely holding back a grin. "If redith had thought you looked like her dad from the start, that ti she broke down crying with you would've had a whole lot more layers to unpack."
"…" George's head started throbbing. He was on the verge of tears. "Are you gonna help
or not?"
Adam eased off the teasing—he didn't want to push George over the edge.
Ti to focus.
He'd been about to say no.
He had plenty on his plate already.
Plus, he liked to keep work and personal stuff separate—unless it was absolutely necessary, he wouldn't mix the two.
And honestly, if George couldn't handle sothing this small, he'd be a total lost cause.
But then sothing George said clicked, and Adam's mind shifted. "Wait, you said she keeps talking about work? What stage is her Alzheir's at? Stage two, right? How long has she been in stage two?"
With Alzheir's, by stage three, people can't take care of themselves anymore. No way soone that far gone would be as lively as Ellis Grey was acting now.
"Second year!" George answered instantly, having seen her chart.
"Alright! I'll co with you to check it out," Adam said, his eyes lighting up.
Stage two Alzheir's ant mory loss, sure, but not as severe as stage three.
And for a legend like Ellis Grey, surgery was practically muscle mory.
Hadn't she been yelling about "you incompetent quacks" just a minute ago?
There's no official ranking for doctors, but in Adam's mind, for cardiothoracic surgery, it went sothing like: regular attending, mildly notable Leonard, renowned Burke, big-hospital surgical chief Richard, and then the legendary Ellis Grey.
Yup—Ellis Grey was a cardiothoracic surgeon.
If Adam's hunch was right, and Ellis had held onto her dical knowledge…
Getting to talk face-to-face with a cardiothoracic legend like her? That'd be a rare treat—practically a once-in-a-lifeti thrill.
The thought hit him, and suddenly, Adam was wide awake.
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