the world will still turn when I'm not around;

[noneoftherules]

"They've sucked the life right out of you. The Meredith I used to know -"

"Is right there. I'm right here. I just don't wanna sleep my way through Europe anymore, I wanna be here. I wanna be here

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[drownondryland]

The last few days have been weird. It's not that they've been bad, because they haven't, they've been good, but Meredith's still caught between being content and grieving, enjoying what she's got and fighting how utterly unsure she is all the time.

None of which especially matters at the moment, because right now, she's just enjoying the beach - even, fine, the sunshine - when she hears someone behind her. Glancing absently back over her shoulder, her first reaction is a wave of irritation, of not wanting to deal with Emma again. A second look, though, is enough to make her rethink that, because this? This isn't someone dressed for island weather (plus she actually is dressed).

"...Die?"

This really isn't a mistake she wants to make twice in one week.

[noneoftherules]

Meredith Grey's is not the first voice Sadie expects to hear - not even close - but it is a voice that she would recognize anywhere, regardless of how much time has passed since she last heard it. It just so happens that she heard it not too long ago, and it wasn't exactly please with her then.

It isn't the sudden sound that catches her off guard as much as it is Death's tone. Considering the argument they just had, Meredith sounds a little too... well, a little too Death. Too much like her old best friend, not enough like the bore she's become in recent years.

Combined, this is all enough to distract Sadie from the very real fact that she has know idea how she found herself on this beach - which, for the record, couldn't possibly be anywhere near Seattle - and has likely gone completely insane in the last half hour. Instead, she turns toward the source of the voice and asks, "Death?"

[drownondryland]

Any trepidation left in Meredith vanishes entirely at that, and she starts toward Sadie, breaking into a grin and picking up speed as she goes. "Die!"

This is so much better than dealing with yet another lookalike, a welcome relief from constant loss, and she reaches to rest her hands on Sadie's arms as she reaches her, lit up. So maybe every person she gets is one more she'll lose; right now, it just means she's got another tiny piece of her life back, even if it's a life she left behind a long time ago. "Oh my god," she says, a little awestruck. There's a difference between thinking Sadie's around and it actually being true, and it's a welcome one. "Look at you. I can't believe you're really here, hi."

[noneoftherules]

"I can't believe it either." Despite herself - despite the circumstances, despite everything - Sadie lets out a laugh. There are things she should say and ask. Meredith isn't forgiven, even if it does feel better to forget anything happened and laugh with Death than to hold onto that memory and carry a grudge. Are you alright? is among the first questions that come to mind. There's a very real likelihood that Meredith hit her head sometime in the past hour or so. But all that comes out is: "Where exactly is here?"

[drownondryland]

"Right," Meredith says, stepping back and pointing at her with both hands. That's the kind of thing that should always, always be first and which she always forgets, generally calling to people by name instead of performing the whole roll call; sometimes, often, it's the wrong name, but that's a different story. She grins, incredulous, and shakes her head, looking Sadie over and wondering all over again how she mistook Emma for her. "This is - it's an island. I know, it's all really weird and insane and it probably feels like you just lost your mind, but... we're here. On an island and no one knows how. We're kind of stuck."

It's the kind of thing she should probably say more seriously, but it's hard to be somber when things like this happen.

[noneoftherules]

"Oh." It isn't much of an explanation, Sadie thinks. All things she could tell just by looking around, which only reinforces the theory that she has actually lost her mind. Only her subconscious could cook up this Meredith Grey - perhaps not the girl Sadie used to know, once upon a time, but definitely closer. The Meredith Sadie imagined she'd be meeting up with all those weeks ago.

"How long have you, you know, been here?" Sadie's just noticed how much Death does not look like someone who's suddenly found herself transported to an island. That's another one for the insanity column.

[drownondryland]

Maybe it's just that Cristina is gone or maybe it's the run in with Emma that had Meredith longing for the real deal. Maybe it's that she's gone and acted like a grown up this week, in between the usual bouts of childishness, and that's always weird. Or maybe she really has just missed Sadie, but whatever the reason, it's such a relief to be standing here doing this. Knowing her seems like something that happened in another life, but maybe she misses that life, too.

"A little over two years," she says, faintly apologetic, though it's not like it's her fault she's been here a while. "I can - I should show you around while I tell you about it. It's kind of a lot. I wish I could explain it, but I still don't know how I got here."

[noneoftherules]

"That'd be good," Sadie replies easily. It's surprising just how quickly she can get behind the idea of being Death's friend again, when just an hour ago she was prepared never to see her again. But like she said before, they've seen each other through a lot, and Meredith might have been prepared to throw it all away, but that's what set her and Sadie apart.

"Hey... Death? It's good to see you again. Really good. Even if I have gone out of my mind and dreamed this all up."

[drownondryland]

"Yeah," Meredith says, smile softening. "You, too. I can't... God, it feels like forever since I saw you." So much has changed since then, and while she and Sadie might not have been quite as close at the end as they once were, that doesn't really matter right now. Touching her arm for her to follow, Meredith starts up the beach toward the trees, headed for the path to the compound. "And you're not dreaming. I might be dreaming, but I remember the last two years pretty clearly. Most of it."

[noneoftherules]

But that's the thing - it hasn't been forever. It's been an hour, two tops, since they last saw each other, and they hardly departed on the best of terms. How has Meredith been on this island for two years if Sadie just saw her in Seattle, and why is she acting like they haven't seen each other in years?

A part of Sadie wants to bring it up, just to be sure, but a larger part thinks that maybe she shouldn't risk it. She could ruin a potentially good thing if she did. This could be a second chance.

"You probably are," she laughs, following alongside Meredith. "I know I'm not creative enough to dream all this up."

[drownondryland]

Meredith laughs, brow raising and expression turning sly. "As I remember it, you really are," she teases. It's so good to have this again, to fall back into a rhythm with someone like it's been no time at all. Things have been so difficult with Izzie - maybe not as much lately as before, but the time discrepancy has been bad enough - that it comes as a relief. "As crazy as it sounds, this place isn't so bad, though. I mean, it's really weird, but once you get past the part where you're stuck here and people kind of just vanish and appear without warning and it's a tropical island in the middle of nowhere... it's kind of okay. It just isn't something I'd want to make up."

[noneoftherules]

"Oh, once you get past all that, sure," Sadie laughs, though she's beginning to get the feeling she might like it here. If the lifestyle's as laidback as the landscape suggests and the people know how to party, who knows? Maybe Sadie won't miss the prospect of Europe all that much.

"Alright, I'll take your word for it, but please tell me there's more to do around here than sunbath."

[drownondryland]

"There really isn't," Meredith says, wrinkling up her nose and shaking her head, but it's not the lament it might have been two years ago. She's holding in a laugh and it shows in the curl of her lips. "I mean, I work in the clinic and there's a bar and a strip club and that's about all they have here. So it's whatever you can find to do." No matter how much better things get, she's still grateful that one of the first things people thought to do here was find somewhere and some way to drink.

[noneoftherules]

Sadie rolls her eyes and lets out a groan. "My God, that sounds pathetic," she sighs, allowing herself a quick glance back at the beach. It's beautiful, the kind of beach you just don't see anymore - unless you've got an extraordinary amount of money to spend - and, from the looks of it, it's completely wasted. A place like this should be the home of a year long Spring Break blow out, or something to that effect. Why isn't anyone prepping a bonfire?

"How've you managed to survive here for so long? I'm telling you, I think I'd have gone insane already. I still might."

[drownondryland]

"Uh, I think I almost did," Meredith admits. Gesturing toward the path nearby to indicate that's where they're headed, she shrugs, laughing under her breath. It still makes no sense to her, but she's learned that this place never will, no matter how little she likes that. "But there's a lot of alcohol and no economy. It's all free. And, you know, I mean, there's guys." Her sly tone can't entirely mask the twist in her expression that looks somehow sheepish, even shy, and she feels a little stupid for it, but not enough to mind. "The ones who aren't gay anyway."

[noneoftherules]

"That I can live with," Sadie laughs, following Meredith along the path. No roads, she notices, which presumably means no cars, either. She could have guess no planes, and although she's not particularly attached to driving or flying, she's definitely not fond of staying in the same place for long, which seems to be precisely what this island wants of her.

Sadie can't even begin to count the ways in which this is a downgrade from Spain, and Meredith remains the only thing this place has going for it. "So. A place like this, the least it could have is a tropical resort or something, right? Don't tell me I'm expected to live in a tiki hut."