Author's Notes: This is just a story I couldn't get out of my mind, so I decided to write it down. I don't know if anybody is actually interested in reading this, given that one of the main character's isn't even on the show and the other one doesn't exactly have a big fanbase. But sometimes you just have to write things down to be able to move on to new stories (or discontinued old stories lol). So here it is. If you like it, please let me know. Reviews and comments always make me happy.

The evening before she started her new job, Amber Karev went to a bar. Getting drunk was ill-advised, but she was kind of freaking out about tomorrow - for various reasons - and she just needed one or two tequila shots to numb her mind a little bit.

The place was right across the street from Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, the hospital where her brother Alex was working, and where she would be working as of tomorrow as well. She'd found the bar this morning after her appointment with Chief Bailey, who had officially welcomed the youngest Karev to the Grey Sloan team. Furthermore she'd given Amber her very own hospital ID card and explained a few basic things - like where she'd find the interns' locker room and names of interns whose group she'd been assigned to.

During her brief stop at the hospital, Amber had wandered through the hospital halls cautiously like a deer, afraid she could bump into her brother at every corner. Luckily that had not happened, though. She was not ready to face him yet.

Taking that into account it was a pretty self-sabotaging act to come back to this bar. Alex could walk in here any minute. There was a skeleton wrapped in Christmas lights called Dr. Bones beside the counter, so unless that was a remnant of last year's Halloween decoration, this was definitely a place the doctors from across the street used to socialize.

The bartender brought her first tequila and Amber drained it immediately, feeling the familiar burn in her throat, followed by pleasant heat spreading in her stomach.

Her eyes were caught by the sign with the green neon letters behind the counter. It read The Emerald City Bar. So this was what this place was called. Not exactly an imaginative name, considering it was a bar in Seattle. Why was Seattle called the emerald city, anyways? Amber mused. It reminded her of The Wizard of Oz, but Seattle was a city in Washington, not Kansas, so it made no sense to her.

Maybe she should have taken a look at that Seattle travel guide, which was buried somewhere in her unpacked moving boxes. Surely, it would have an explanation for the emerald city thing?

The travel guide had been Aaron's parting gift for her. Ever since he'd heard the news, he'd been all excitement and encouragement, to the point where Amber got the impression her brother was more thrilled about her new job than she was herself. But then she started to wonder if Aaron was actually glad that she was leaving Iowa for good, because he didn't want her around anymore. It was an ugly thought that lodged in her mind, but not unwarranted. With the two-inch scar right under her hairline, her face was practically a permanent display of what he had done to her. Even though Amber had never held it against him, not even once, Aaron could never entirely forgive himself for attacking her that one night eight years ago, during his first schizophrenic episode. And after all this time he was still reminded of his "crime" every time he just as much as looked at his sister. So what if he was just relieved to finally be rid of the source of his guilt?

A jingling sound, coming from the bar entrance, reached Amber's ears and brought her back to the present. At the door there was this little bell or whatever and whenever a new guest entered, it chimed. And whenever that happened, Amber turned on her stool to check out the new arrival.

But the person who'd entered the bar wasn't Alex, just some other guy. Tall, great hair, probably late twenties, Amber assessed quickly. As she turned back to the counter, she drew out a small breath of relief. No, she was definitely not ready for this particular family reunion.

But she knew she could not avoid him forever. There was a pretty good chance she'd meet him tomorrow at the hospital. What would happen when they finally met? Would he be happy to see her? Probably not, she had to concede. Would he even recognize her? Again, probably not. They had not seen each other in years, not since his short visit at the hospital after Aaron had tried to kill her. The last clear memories Amber had of her oldest brother were from when she was ten. The truth was Alex was a stranger to her and she was a stranger to him.

The thought was so depressing, it made Amber order her second shot of tequila that night.

Between the brother who could barely bear to look her in the eyes and the brother who would probably not even recognize her if he looked her in the eyes, her family situation was pretty damn depressing.

Well, at least her mother was doing better now, much better actually. For the first time since Amber could remember, Helen could take care of herself. However, it was not exactly like Amber had imagined it when she'd been wishing for a normal mom as a kid. Helen was still distant in many ways. Amber couldn't just hang out with her or ask her for advice whenever she felt like it. Her mother was very meticulous about her schedules and routines. Which was okay most of the time. Schizophrenia was still looming over her like a dark cloud and it would never go away completely, so her mother had to do what was necessary to maintain her sanity. Amber understood that. Still, not even Helen had seemed overly sad to see her daughter move to another state. She was proud of her, Amber knew that much. But there had been no tears, when they'd said goodbye, no I will miss you. And Amber couldn't help but be a little hurt when she thought about that.

"Onion rings and a beer, please," she suddenly heard a voice beside her say. Amber turned around and recognized the young guy who'd come in a minute ago.

The bartender slid a glass of tequila towards Amber, nodded to the guy and disappeared towards the kitchen.

Amber raised the glass, stopped midway to her lips and mumbled under her breath, "To the universe and all the ways it keeps screwing me over."

"Well, that's bleak," the guy beside her remarked.

Amber looked at him. "Excuse me?"

"Oh nothing... I just... I heard your toast and found it a bit bleak." He gave her a slightly teasing smile.

"Uh... yeah, uhm I guess it was." She laughed kind of sheepishly, embarrassed that she'd been caught being ridiculous and dramatic. "I'm starting a new job tomorrow," she said as if that could in any way explain her weird toast.

"I take it you're not excited about that new job?"

"No, actually I am very excited about the job. Well, I'm anxious too, sure. But there's... it's just... it's complicated," she said lamely and started randomly playing around with the empty shot glass, banging it quietly against the counter and turning it between her fingers.

When she looked up again, his glance was still resting on her, sort of thoughtful and sympathetic, as if he wanted to show her that he was still willing to listen, but didn't want to push her to say more.

The guy had something very genuine and trustworthy about him. In a way he gave Amber a boy scout vibe. It seemed like he honestly cared about helping other people, even strangers. And Amber could totally picture him offering old ladies to carry their groceries and stuff like that. Although he had to be close to 30, there was something innocent to him. Like nothing bad had ever happened in his life. Which was most certainly not true, but at any rate it did not look like he had allowed life's hardships to corrupt his decency.

"I got a job as an intern at the place my oldest brother works at," she said eventually, only because he was still looking at her, a faint but encouraging smile on his lips.

"And that is a problem because...?" boy scout guy prompted.

"That's a problem, because we haven't been in touch lately. In fact, I haven't seen him in years and I haven't even told him about the job."

"You don't think he's gonna be happy to have you here?"

"No, I don't think so." Amber shook her head vehemently and strands of her long, wavy blonde hair fell into her face. "He left us a long time ago and he's made it more than clear he doesn't want us to be part of his life." She pushed the hair out of her face, staring at the various liquors lined up behind the bar. Admitting it out loud still hurt.

"Was he a good brother? I mean, when he was still around?"

"I guess so." Amber shrugged her shoulders. "He's way older than me and growing up, Alex - that's his name - had to shoulder a lot of responsibility in the family. Most of it actually. My dad he... well, he wasn't a good guy and my mom struggled with mental health issues back then. Alex had to take care of everything and everyone. He practically raised me and my other brother Aaron. I think eventually he just got sick of all that crap. He wanted a life of his own. So when he left, he left for good. I was still a child back then, so I barely remember him, to be honest."

That was a lie. Amber remembered a lot.

She remembered Alex putting Hello Kitty band aids on her skinned knees.

She remembered that he eventually figured out how to make a decent French braid, but never managed the Dutch one. She'd always made fun of his limited skills as a hairdresser.

She remembered he'd taught her how to count by reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar with her.

She remembered afternoons at the park with Aaron and Alex. When she was feeling well enough, sometimes even Mom went with them. Amber would sit on the swing, her braids flying in the wind, while she was laughing with absolute glee.

And she remembered that stupid Winnie the Pooh quote Alex had framed for her when he left. You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart, I'll always be with you. At ten she was already past her Winnie Pooh phase, but that framed quote was one of her most treasured possessions for years. She liked that her big brother saw her as strong, brave and smart, though she was only a kid. And when she missed him most, she found comfort in the notion that he was thinking of her, even though he could not be with her.

What a joke. Like Alex would feel wistfulness for anything connected with his past.

Her chest tightened and silently she berated herself for it. It was time to stop dwelling on useless memories. "I think I need another drink," Amber mumbled and raised her hand to catch the bartender's attention.

"Whoa," Boy Scout put a hand on her arm like he wanted to push it down, but instead he just let it rest there. "Are you sure it's a good idea to get hammered the night before your new job?" His eyes switched back and forth between her face and the two shot glasses in front of her.

Amber sighed and when she let her arm sink Boy Scout removed his hand. He was right. She'd already had the two tequilas she came for and as a matter of fact she did not want to make a bad impression on her very first day at the new hospital.

She looked at the voice of reason beside her and smirked. "Wow, you really are such a boy scout, aren't you?"

"What?"

"You're just... You're so nice. You're worried about some strange girl drinking too much before her first day at a new job. That's just... very caring of you. Nice," she repeated, her tone teasing.

He furrowed his brows. "What's wrong with being nice?"

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong with it." Her hand rose to her head and her fingers vaguely scratched over the back of her head. It was something she often did when she was embarrassed. She felt bad, because she'd obviously offended him. "I guess I'm just a cynical person. I'm really sorry, though. I didn't mean to upset you."

"You didn't, it's fine. And if it's any consolation, I actually had to deal with a very similar situation like yours with my own sister. She turned up at work one day, totally unannounced and asked my boss for a job. And just the day before I had caught her making out with my roommate." Amber goggled at him like she couldn't believe it. "It's true," he reaffirmed. "I came home one day and there was my sister Carina. In the living room. Half naked. Hooking up with my roommate Arizona."

Amber whistled quietly. "Okay, you win." It made them both burst into laughter.

Boy Scout held out his hand to her. "I'm Andrew, by the way."

Amber took his hand. "I'm Amber."

Andrew's onion rings arrived and when the bartender asked Amber if she wanted anything else she didn't order tequila, but two beers, one for herself and one for her new acquaintance.

He was very handsome, Amber could not deny that. Her first assessment had been right, he had great hair. It was the kind of great hair that made her want to run her hands through it very slowly and thoroughly. A desire she decided to blame entirely on the two tequilas she'd had.

She liked his smile too. And his eyes. And she particularly liked that every time he smiled, it extended to his eyes, like he didn't want to half-ass the happy moments.

Absentmindedly Amber started sipping her beer, while Andrew was occupied with his onion rings. Suddenly he nudged her shoulder. "Hey, you want some?" He gestured to his plate.

Only now did Amber realize how hungry she was. Lunch at the burger place around the corner of her new apartment had been her last meal.

"Thanks. I'm actually starving," she said, biting into an onion ring. So now he was actually feeding the hungry, like the nice and righteous boy scout he was. Amused, Amber smiled to herself, trying to hide it by shoving another ring into her mouth.

Boy Scout caught on to it just the same. "What?"

"I was just thinking this is very nice of you, you know - sharing your food with me. Very boy scout-y."

He rolled his eyes, but then they both just laughed.

While they ate, Amber asked Andrew about his sister. He told her they were getting along fine now, most of the time, anyways. As it turned out, they did not grow up together. Their mother took Andrew with her to the States when the parents got divorced, while his sister stayed in Italy with their father. That's how Amber learned that Andrew was actually Italian and in her eyes that little tidbit only made him that much more attractive.

Her facial expression was drifting dangerously towards dreamy stare, when Andrew brought the conversation back to her brother, which was an instant mood killer. "Maybe it won't be so bad with your brother either," he said. "Maybe he's actually happy to see you and have you back in his life. Maybe he missed you all this time."

Amber shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe... whatever. I'm done talking or thinking about Alex for today I..." She paused and bit her lip, unsure whether she really should go through with what she was about to propose. But if she didn't do this she would surely regret it, so she decided to be bold as long as she could still blame it on the alcohol in her system. "How about we get out of here? Would you mind bringing a drunk girl home?"

Andrew grinned and Amber was glad he'd understood the hint. But then, before he could utter the affirmation Amber was hoping for, the excitement dissipated and his face fell. Sudden storm clouds seemed to have choked his sky. His gaze captivated by the empty plate, his mind had gone to a far off place. Or a far off time. He didn't say anything for a much too long moment.

"Okay uh... I-I think I'm just gonna wait outside for my Uber," Amber mumbled disappointedly. She stood up and started to count money from her wallet to pay her drinks. What had she been thinking? She'd made an absolute fool of herself. She could feel her face flush and wanted nothing more than to get out of the bar as fast as possible.

"Hey, wait." Andrew put a hand on her forearm to stop her from leaving. "It's nothing personal. I just had a really bad case of déjà-vu. The thing is, I've been here before. Taking a drunk girl home from a bar - this particular bar actually - it just never ends well for me."

Amber had no idea what that meant. It was a very cryptic excuse. But it was a "no", that was more than clear. "Okay. Uh... goodbye Andrew." She forced a smile, made an uncertain waving motion with her hand and headed for the exit.

Outside it was raining, which sucked on multiple levels. For one, contrary to what she'd told Andrew, there was no Uber coming for her. She had yet to make the call. She also did not have an umbrella with her, which meant she would get completely soaked waiting for her ride, unless she went back into the bar. But after the way she'd just been humiliated, there was no chance in hell she would go back in there. She'd rather risk getting pneumonia.

So she made the call and then she waited. In the rain.

People scurried past her, busy to get home, because it was late, or simply because they wanted to escape the rain. Amber followed her driver's progress on the mobile app. The dot was moving painfully slow and Amber felt more and more miserable.

Suddenly someone tapped her shoulder. "Amber?"

She turned around and before she knew it Andrew's lips met hers. It took Amber a moment, but then she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.

By that point her hair was all wet and the rain had not only soaked her clothes, but had started to invade her heels as well. Indifferent to all of that, Amber's heart was doing cartwheels in her chest.

"I just wanted to tell you that I changed my mind," Andrew said, as he drew back. And then he gave her that special smile that lit up his entire face.

They took Andrew's car and Amber directed him to her apartment complex. Once they'd entered the building they didn't waste any time. They started making out in the elevator and when it reached the third floor, Amber took Andrew's hand and practically ran down the hall to her apartment with him.

She unlocked the door, pulled him inside and continued to kiss him, not even bothering to turn on the light in her tiny kitchen. Amber's apartment was practically a shoe box. There were only three rooms, the kitchen, a bathroom and a living room that doubled as a bedroom.

The peeled off each other's jackets and kicked off their shoes. Amber slid open the living room door and Andrew pinned her against the wall, pulling down the sleeve of her top so he could caress her shoulder and neck. "Okay, wait." He pulled back abruptly. "Just to make sure, you don't have a very angry boyfriend, who will come in any moment and turn my face into mincemeat, right?"

"No, of course not." Amber laughed, thinking he must be joking. But his face was completely serious. He seemed kind of tense even. "Andrew, I would never have asked you to bring me home, if I had a boyfriend, okay?"

Andrew nodded and was about to pull her into an embrace again, when Amber remembered what he'd said at the bar. "Is that what happened the last time you brought a girl home from that bar?" she asked. "You wanted to hook up with her and her boyfriend showed up and beat you up?"

"Not exactly. I didn't want to hook up with her. She was dead drunk and I just wanted to help her get home safely. Then he barged in and completely misunderstood the situation. He thought I was hurting her and he... well, it just got really ugly. For me, that is."

Amber bit the inside of her lip and gave Andrew a pained look of sympathy. "Mincemeat, huh?" Tenderly she kissed his nose, then his cheek and then his mouth. "I promise that's not gonna happen tonight," she whispered into his ear before she guided him to her bed, navigating around half a dozen cardboard boxes, which were scattered on the floor, because she'd barely unpacked any of her stuff yet.

At the bed they started to get rid of the rest of their clothes, their t-shirts coming off first. Swiftly Amber reached to the lamp on her nightstand and turned the switch. The little lamp would give off just enough light to create a tinge of romantic atmosphere in this mostly bare and empty room. Plus she wanted to see Andrew, not just feel him.

First she did what she'd wanted to do since she first saw him. Slowly she ran her fingers through his short brown curls, enjoying every second of it. Then she let her hands slide down Andrew's torso, feeling the bumps of his pecs and abs against her palms. As she had anticipated, his hair was not the only perfect thing about his body. She almost had to suppress a laugh. God, how was he even real?

Andrew pulled her close again. He kissed her neck beneath the jawline and unhooked her bra with one hand, his other hand moving from her hip to the small of her back. The touch of his lips and fingers made her skin prickle already. They sank down on the bed together, where Andrew's lips found Amber's again. Soft and hot. Passionate and demanding.

In Amber's experience one-night stands were usually about instant gratification. She'd had several guys who cared exclusively about satisfying their own needs and didn't give the slightest crap about hers. Once a guy had kicked her out of his apartment right after the act.

But this night was different. Andrew was different. His hands and lips traveled over every inch of Amber's body like he wanted to get to know it, learn to understand it. It almost seemed like part of his satisfaction came from finding out about her wants and needs. He made all the nerves in her body light up like a firework explosion. The way Andrew made love to her was so intense and blissful, Amber kind of fell in love with him right there and then.

It took just a moment, though, for rationality to kick in and for her to realize how stupid that thought was. She barely even knew the guy. What she was feeling was just the usual sex rush, her body being flooded with oxytocin and endorphins. And that fluttering feeling in her stomach? That was not butterflies, but just a figment of her imagination, caused by the remains of alcohol in her system.

The first thing Amber saw when she blinkingly opened her eyes the next morning was a nipple. Andrew's nipple. Apparently she'd been sleeping with her face buried in Andrew's chest like it was a pillow, a pretty hard pillow actually.

"Hey, look who's finally waking up," he whispered, flashing a smile at her as she started to stir in his arms.

"You're still here?" she asked, sleepily, still unable to move.

"Yup. How could I have left when you were practically sleeping on me? Did you want me to leave?" he added with a sliver over insecurity in his voice.

"No. Nonono. Not at all." She rolled around and thus finally freed him from his pillow duties. "Last night was very nice, really," she assured him.

Suspiciously, Andrew lifted an eyebrow. "Are you making fun of me again?"

Amber chuckled. "No, I'm not." She snuggled close to him again, resting her face against the nook of his neck this time, where she could still faintly smell his cologne. She had no clue what brand it was, but she liked the smell. Andrew's hands gently stroked her back. She liked that too.

"In fact," she announced, "I'm beginning to realize I may have underappreciated "nice" my entire li-shit!" She jolted up. "What time is it?" Not even waiting for his reply, she kicked off the covers wrapped around her legs, climbed over Andrew and frantically started searching for her phone. Today was her first day at the new hospital. How could that not have been the first thing she thought of after waking up? Day one and she already let herself be distracted by some guy!

"Hey, relax. It's only 6:30 am." Andrew extended his arm to her, so she could check his wristwatch.

"Phew." Amber exhaled audibly and put her hand to her heart. It was pounding like crazy. "Still, I better get going," she said then. "I need to cut people open in less than two hours." She took a new bra from a drawer and a new pair of jeans from a cardboard box and started to get dressed.

"Whoa." Andrew was alarmed. "Cut people open? Guess that puts my theory to rest that you're starting an internship at Microsoft. Please tell me it's not some murderous hit man business you're involved in."

"No, it's an internship at a hospital, dummy. And I'm not starting it, I'm just transferring." She tried to get some order into her unruly hair, but ultimately she just put it up into a messy bun, using the hair tie on her wrist, her most trusted companion.

"What hospital is it?" he asked. Amber was surprised to hear a sudden hint of anticipation in his tone.

"Grey Sloan Memorial hospital."

"Grey Sloan? No way!" Andrew laughed. "That's where I'm working."

Amber stopped. "Wait, you're a doctor too?"

He nodded firmly. "Yes, I'm in the surgical program, third year, " he added.

"Me too! Well, first year obviously, but... we're practically colleagues now, right?" She chuckled, but then she paused, realizing something. "No wait, technically you're my boss." That made her laugh even more and Andrew couldn't help but join in.

Initially Amber had wanted to ask Andrew to leave. She was getting really nervous about her first day at Grey Sloan and wanted to be alone to mentally prepare or whatever. But finding out Andrew was a co-worker made her change her plan. Instead of kicking him out, she invited him to stay for breakfast - well, just coffee actually, because that was the only thing she had around.

"So how come you're transferring in the middle of the year?" Andrew asked later when they sat down with their coffee cups at the smaller one of the two tables in Amber's living room. The small one was her unofficial dining table since she needed the bigger one as a study desk. It was crammed with medical journals and books and folders. Since she lived alone she thought that arrangement would work best for her. She had not expected to have company on her second day in town already.

"That's kind of a long story," Amber sighed, taking a sip from her coffee mug. "One of the attendings at my old hospital in Council Bluffs, Dr. Harding, thought I wasn't challenged enough there. He said I would waste my potential if I stayed at that little county hospital. He suggested I apply for some bigger hospitals. At first I didn't want to, because part of the reason I had stayed in Council Bluffs was so I could take care of my family." She hesitated, contemplating how much she should tell Andrew about her messed up family. But she'd told him so much already, so what difference did it make? "Both my mom and my brother Aaron suffer from schizophrenia and I've been taking care of them since I was 17. And I didn't want to leave them. But they've been doing much better lately and I... I feel like they don't really want me around anymore." She laughed to deflect from the sheen of tears that started to form in her eyes.

"Hey, come on, I'm sure that's not true," Andrew said softly.

Amber fumbled with the sleeves of her Iowa University sweater and pulled them over her hands, shrugging uncertainly. "Whatever. Eventually I just figured leaving might not be such a bad idea. Dr. Harding made a few calls and as it turned out there was an opening for an intern at Grey Sloan. One of theirs had apparently dropped out recently-"

"She didn't drop out," Andrew corrected her harshly.

"Oh okay, sorry." Amber was taken aback by his sudden roughness. "Did you... uh know her well?"

Andrew nodded. "Her name is Sam. She was my girlfriend. And she didn't quit the program, she had to leave the country, because ICE was after her."

"Oh God... that's awful." Amber brought her hand to her mouth. To say she felt like an insensitive jerk was an understatement. "I'm really sorry, Andrew."

He shook his head. "No. It's okay. You couldn't have known. Besides, I'm over her. Or try to be," he corrected himself. "She's safe now and that's the only thing that counts." He emptied his coffee mug and changed the subject. "What about you? Are you nervous about today?"

"Insanely nervous," she conceded. "I'm at that point where I wish I had stayed in Iowa. In Council Bluffs I was the best of my class. But here I'm just a small fish in a big pond. What if everyone else is better than me? I'm pretty sure Chief Bailey only gave me the job, because she knows my brother Alex. She told me she was the one who'd trained him." It was not lost on her how absurd it was that having Alex Karev as a brother was suddenly opening doors for her. In her childhood he'd only been known as a trouble maker.

"Still dreading to meet him too?"

"Oh yeah, more than ever."

"How about we meet up tonight at the bar again so you can fill me in how it went with your brother? Then you can also tell me everything about your first day. And I can tell you about my first day at Grey Sloan, which was pretty crazy, if I dare say so myself."

Amber gave him a lopsided smile. "Sounds like a plan I could be into." She tried to sound casual and not show her excitement too obviously. But the truth was, she was really starting to like Andrew and the prospect of seeing his friendly face at Grey Sloan on a regular basis took some of the pent up anxiousness away already. But mostly she was happy he wanted to go out with her tonight. It wasn't exactly a date, she was aware of that. But still, it was something.

"And don't forget to take everything in and enjoy the day as much as you can. Don't let your fear ruin that for you."

"I'll try to do that, thanks." She finished he coffee. "I actually had an appointment with Chief Bailey yesterday to introduce myself. She explained some stuff and gave me my ID card. Wanna see?" She went to get her bag which she'd dropped on the floor beside her bed the night before. "The picture doesn't even suck, which I could not say about the one on my student's ID." She began to rummage in her bag. She always had a million things in there and it always took her ages to find anything. "Chief Bailey is nice, what do you think?"

Andrew let out a grunt that sounded like he had to stiff a laugh.

"What?" Amber stopped rummaging for a moment and shot Andrew a look.

"Nothing, just the way you keep saying Chief Bailey, it's funny."

"Why is it funny? She is the chief. What else am I supposed to call her?"

"Just Bailey. Or if you're talking to her face, Dr. Bailey. Or just Chief. I can tell you nobody ever calls her Chief Bailey. Your gonna sound like a suck-up if you do that."

"I was raised to have decent manners," she said unperturbed. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"Nope." He regarded her with a cocky twinkle in his eyes, something Amber had not thought he was even capable of. "But don't come crying to me when the other kids steal your lunch money for being such a teacher's pet."

"Okay, why would you say that? I'm already nervous about being the new girl. This is not helping." She had found the ID and absentmindedly put it on the table.

"Guess I'm not such a boy scout after all, huh?"

"So this is payback for yesterday? Listen, it's just... I get mean when I'm drinking." She held out her hand to him as a peace offering. "I'm really sorry, okay?"

Andrew's accepted her hand and smirked. "Okay, forgiven." Unexpectedly he pulled her up and into a kiss. Then he drew back and brought his hands to her cheeks. With her face framed that way he looked straight into her eyes, long and intently, like he was taking a mental picture of her. He leaned in and his mouth brushed against hers once more, ever so lightly. It almost seemed like goodbye. But it wasn't. This was a beginning. At least that's what Amber was hoping it was.

As he let go, Andrew reached for the ID card on the table. "So this is it, huh?"

"Yup, my very own Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital surgeon ID card," Amber said proudly.

Andrew's studied it thoroughly, his fingers wiping over the smooth surface of the plastic card.

Then he stopped.

His head shot up. "Karev? Your last name is Karev?"

"Yeah? Wh-"

"So your brother Alex, the one who works at the hospital, is Alex Karev? You're Karev's sister?"

"Uh yeah. Why? Do you know him?" Amber frowned. His weird reaction confused her.

Andrew just stared at her with wide eyes, disbelief and shock written all over his face.

"Andrew?"