"Hey, Dr. Shepter! ~"
"Hey."
"So sorry for your loss."
"Thanks."
"Dr. Shepter, I'm really torn up about your friend. If you need anything—anything at all—just let me know, okay?"
"Thanks."
"Dr. Shepter…"
"…"
The nurses swarmed around Dr. Shepter, tossing out greetings left and right.
Meredith just stared, dumbfounded.
"Wow, looks like Mr. Dreamy's back in action," Cristina teased with a smirk.
"Adam, do you know what's going on here?" Meredith tried to hold it in but couldn't resist turning to Adam, who was grinning like he was watching a soap opera unfold.
"Of course," Adam nodded. "You guys know about the Anti-Sloan Nurse Alliance at the hospital, right?"
"Yeah," Meredith said. "But what's that got to do with Derek?"
"It's not just about ganging up on Mark Sloan," Adam explained. "They're also a gossip hub.
And lately, the word's been that you and Dr. Shepter are totally done. Plus, with his friend passing away, he's apparently in dire need of some TLC.
So, tons of nurses—and even some female docs—are lining up to 'comfort' him."
"Who started that rumor?!" Meredith's face darkened.
"Is it wrong, though?" Cristina shot her bestie a sideways glance.
"…" Meredith didn't even know how to respond.
She and Dr. Shepter had been on-and-off for a while.
She'd been cool with that setup—kept things nice and casual.
Then recently, he popped the question, talking about forever.
But growing up in *that* family had left her with a natural distrust of marriage. Even with all his sincerity, she couldn't fully let go of the fear he'd turn into another version of her dad.
Dr. Shepter was bummed but said he'd wait.
Though he added that if someone else came along who fit him better, he couldn't promise he'd hold out forever.
She'd agreed to that.
But *this*? This was way too fast!
I mean, come on—they'd just had a "work lunch" in the storage closet *yesterday*! 😳
"It was Dr. Sloan who spread it," Adam chimed in. "Heard he and Shepter patched things up recently. Back to being best buds."
Adam had seen this coming a mile away.
He'd even wondered how long Shepter could keep it together.
Turns out, not long at all.
Forgiving Sloan so easily after getting burned like that?
No wonder Mark kept pushing to stay Shepter's BFF…
"This is gonna be wild," Cristina laughed. "No wonder this morning during surgery, even the circulating nurse was flirting with him.
Get this—he's done thirty surgeries with her and didn't even know her name until today. Hilarious!"
"He knows it now?" Adam grinned.
"Yup," Cristina nodded. "It's Rose. He made a big deal of writing it down and saying it out loud."
"Stop it!" Meredith snapped, finally hitting her limit.
"That's reality for you," Cristina said, unfazed. "You don't want him? Plenty of others do. Better figure it out, or you'll be the one crying later."
Adam just smiled quietly, thinking to himself, *The news should've spread by now…*
---
Noon. Cafeteria.
"Big news! Huge news!" Cristina burst in, waving a newspaper. "You won't believe this!"
"What's up?" Adam asked, putting on a 'shocked' face.
"Remember Shepter's doctor friend who got killed?" Cristina unfolded the paper. "They weren't sure if it was murder or suicide before, but now word is she was murdered.
And get this—she might've had it coming.
Turns out she teamed up with a pro guardian to slap fake dementia labels on perfectly fine patients, lock them up in nursing homes, and swipe their money!"
"What?!" Meredith, who'd been moping over her drama, snapped out of it, staring in disbelief.
"You heard me!" Cristina's little eyes went wide as she spilled the tea.
*The latest chapter's first drop is on 69 Book Bar!*
"Seriously, all it takes is a shady doctor and a crooked judge working together, and a rich, educated, independent senior can get locked away, living like hell."
Meredith snatched the paper and started reading. Adam leaned in too, 'super interested,' catching the massive headline on the front page:
**"War God Returns, Finds Sixty-Year-Old Mom in a Doghouse, Slaughters Three in Rage!"**
The article laid out the whole dark scheme—professional guardians, nursing homes, doctors, and judges teaming up to prey on seniors' wealth.
Vivid details, like you were there.
But the killer? All speculation. Maybe the "War God" striking back.
Yup, that headline screamed Adam's handiwork.
Ever since Kate told him about Magic Amy's double drowning in a suburban river and her assistant Frankie getting blown up in an apartment, Adam and Juno, who'd rushed over, cooked up this wake-up-call article.
Without it, Adam was dead sure the case would've been brushed off as unsolved—or worse, ruled as three suicides.
Not exaggerating—Kate said the local cops' first instinct was exactly that.
No clear proof of murder? Eh, call it a day.
If they'd let it slide like that, all their hard work would've been for nothing.
So, Adam took the lead, Juno fine-tuned the details for maximum impact, and they mailed it off to a few ambitious reporters on the down-low.
Boom—front-page headline.
The result? Adam was thrilled.
Even Cristina, who only cared about medicine, and love-struck Meredith were floored! 😲
Made sense, though.
Both Cristina and Meredith wanted to be strong, independent women.
Cristina's goal was crystal clear—become the next Ellis Grey.
And Ellis? If she didn't have Meredith as a daughter, she'd have been prime prey with her stats.
Cristina hated kids and probably wouldn't have any, so this article hit her hard.
The stronger the connection, the deeper the shock.
*Hell no!* She didn't want this crap in her future.
Imagine grinding your whole life, winning it all, only to end up old, stripped of your glory *and* your basic dignity.
That kind of cruelty sends chills down your spine.
Meredith, meanwhile, was shaken for a different reason.
Her rocky bond with her mom, plus being too busy with med school and partying, meant she'd barely checked on her mom in the nursing home back then.
If Adam hadn't stepped in and moved her to the hospital, who knows if she'd have ended up like this too?
Cristina and Meredith were small fry compared to the *Sex and the City* crew—Carrie and her posse.
Oh, they were about to lose it.
Everything they'd chased—glamour, success—smashed into the mud.
No, worse—tossed into hell!
Unacceptable! 😡
What stung even more? The culprit was one of their own.
They'd met Marla Grayson before, even vibed with her.
Sure, they'd had a hunch her gigs were shady, but success blinds you to the dirt—focusing only on her shiny exterior.
Now? Super awkward.
All they could do was scream for the cops to dig up the truth!
(End of Chapter)