Tessa Adrianne Montgomery Shepherd rolled out of bed at promptly 9 A.M. The fifteen year old turned on her music, cranking the volume up so loud, the house started to shake. Tessa threw her dark hair into a messy bun before jumping into the scalding hot shower. That was the thing about Tessa. Everything was done to the max. After her shower, Tessa began to get dressed for the day. She paired a well worn pair of capris that she rolled up with her favorite long sleeved Yale tee shirt she'd stolen from her mother. Her practically unmanageable curly brown hair, so dark that was almost black, was wrestled into a frizzy side braid that ended at her elbow. Tessa slipped on her high-top converse before grabbing her eternally packed knapsack before strolling downstairs of her Seattle home, humming softly.

When she reached the kitchen, she noticed two post-it notes stuck to the marble counter. The first one she picked up was obviously written by her mother, her elegant, feminine handwriting informed her that there had been an emergency with a patient and Addison had rushed off to the hospital. The story of her life. The second note was from her father, he'd scheduled a craniotomy at 7 A.M. Derek had left before the sun had risen. Tessa knew that her parents loved very much. Her parents made sure of it. They couldn't help that they were world-class surgeons. In fact, she was quite proud of all of their accomplishments. She'd learned at an early age that the patients come first. It was never something Derek or Addison had said, but the message was clear to her. Tessa hadn't been born at the most opportune time, with both of her parents going through their first years as interns; there had been little time to raise a child.

Somehow, they made it work. Addison used to joke that she'd used Tessa to practice on when she was an infant. She'd said having her own baby to take care of was the reason she became the world-class surgeon she is. Tessa almost felt bad for how much stress her parents must have been under during that time. Then again, it wasn't her fault. The hospital was only a seven minute walk from the Montgomery- Shepherd household. The best part of living in Seattle was that there was a coffee shop on every corner. Tessa's favorite Starbucks was smack dab in the middle of her route to the hospital. Her morning got even better when she saw there wasn't a line leading up to the cashier. The cute barista behind the counter immediately began flirting with Tessa, and she shamelessly flirted back. The two had been dancing on the thin line of friendliness and flirtation since she got out of school three weeks ago. Even if she wasn't going to the hospital, she always stopped by to grab her daily caffeine fix from him. "There ya go, Tessa. Caramel frappucino with extra caramel crunches. I threw in a chocolate croissant on the house."

The blue eyed hottie winked at her when he handed her order, hoping to receive a little for giving a lot. Tessa gave him her brightest and sweetest smile before walking towards the door. Just before she went back out in the rain, she turned and said, "Thanks Jordan. You're the best!" She blew him a kiss and swiftly walked out. Maybe if she hadn't been enjoying the coffee and pastry and memory of the cute boy, she would have noticed the man following her out.

The lobby of Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital welcomed her like a second home. She had grown up here since her father had fled from New York when she was twelve. Tessa referred to that night as the Night of Bad Choices, since that seemed to be the only choices made that night.

Tessa had spent the evening with her father at the movies and pizza place. Addison had claimed to have the world's worst headache and had encouraged them to have a daddy/daughter date night. Tessa couldn't wait to get home and give her mother a play by play of the evening. She had rushed upstairs to parent's bedroom. Every cell in her body froze at the sight of her mother and her adored Uncle Mark together on Derek and Addison's bed. Tessa must've made a strangled sound, though she didn't recall doing so, because both naked adults glanced up at the open doorway. Addison shoved Mark off of her body, and struggled to pull on her robe. She began apologizing and tried getting out of the bed to explain. Derek stood behind his daughter, stone faced. He picked up the child and moved swiftly to Tessa's bedroom. He sat his daughter down on her bed and she crawled to the corner where the bed met the wall, hugging her stuffed owl Heddie to her. Derek pulled out a suitcase from the little girl's closet and began throwing her clothes in it. Addison came flying in, tears rolling down her face. "Derek, Derek please give me a chance to explain! Derek I'm so, so sorry!"

Addison grabbed frantically at her husband's arms, but Derek just ignored her. As if she just noticed what he was doing, her voice raised an octave and her attempts to stop Derek became even more frantic.

"Derek, you can't take her from me! Please, Derek! You can't take my baby away from me. I am her mother!"

Derek scoffed at this, finally acknowledging his wife's presence. "Some mother. Screwing her father's best friend where a twelve year old can see? That's great parenting."

Addison raked her fingers through flaming hair. "She wasn't supposed to see that Derek. You know that. You know that I would never do anything to hurt my daughter."

Derek turned with a disbelieving expression on his face. "She wasn't supposed to see that, Addison? Then why was the door wide open, huh? And what about me? You'd never do anything to hurt her, but I'm free game? You didn't think it would hurt to see my wife and my best friend together?"

Addison suddenly stopped crying, her green eyes becoming as hard as the stone they resembled. "Maybe if you acted like you actually liked me and wanted to spend time with me, none of this would have happened."

Nobody spoke as Derek zipped the suitcase. Tessa had been trying to disappear through the wall during the ordeal. The little girl had pressed her hands over her ears, attempting to block out the sound of her parent's fight. She closed her eyes tightly, but the tears were still running down her face. A sob escaped her and suddenly both parents noticed the child in the corner. Both of their hearts broke at the sight of Tessa so upset. Addison instinctively reached out to comfort Tessa, but Derek shot forward, scooping up his daughter and pushing past his wife. Tessa wrapped her slim arms around Derek's neck as they walked down the stairs and out the door. She watched her mother break down on the front steps, the rain washing away her tears.

Tessa hated to think about how her family ended up in Seattle, or the six months after they'd gotten there. As far as she was concerned, that period of time never even happened. She strolled up to the nurse's station and asked if either Shepherd was available. When she was distractedly informed that both of her parents were in surgery, Tessa decided to check the surgical board to see which one of her rock star parents would get out of the OR first. She sipped her coffee thoughtfully as she compared the surgeries scheduled for the day. Tessa jumped when a voice at her ear said, "Planning which surgery you're going to sneak in and watch?"

Tessa punched Alex Karev in his shoulder. "It's way too early in the day to be such an ass, Karev." The PEDS surgeon rubbed his shoulder with a pout. "It's 9:30! And I'm not being an ass. What are you even doing here? It's summer! Shouldn't you be buried deep under the covers in bed till noon?" The teenager shrugged and smiled cheerily. "I like being at the hospital. It is too quiet at home all by myself. I need the noise. And actually, I was checking to see which one of my ever-busy parents would be getting out of surgery first. Looks like Mom will finish with an emergency c-section before Dad will finish with his craniotomy. I'll be heading to her office, then."

As she walked towards the stairwell she heard Karev say, "Whatever, McPrincess." Tessa climbed the two flights of stairs between the surgical floor and her mother's office eagerly. She was just passing the on-call room closest to the stairwell when she was yanked in.

Addison Montgomery-Shepherd rolled her shoulders as she stepped out of the OR an hour and a half later than planned. The surgery had initially gone smoothly, both babies delivered safely. Then Addison noticed a bleed in the patient's uterus that her intern had failed to note. It had taken longer to locate the source of the bleed and repair the damage. The famous surgeon stood at the nurse's station checking over another patient's chart when Alex Karev appeared. "Did you just get out of surgery?" Addison nodded distractedly. "So, I guess you haven't been by your office then?"

Addison murmured no; focus still on the chart in her hand. "It's just that McPrincess got here two hours ago. Said she'd wait for you in your office. But, she might've gone to Derek's office by now." At the mention of her daughter, Addison looked up.

"I didn't think she was coming in today. Thanks, Alex." She hurried to her office, eager to see Tessa. She hadn't her daughter-awake, that is- in two days. She'd briefly checked on her last night around 1. Sometimes, Addison would go three or four days without seeing Tessa. The guilt from those periods lasted forever. The red head was steps away from her office when her pager went off, signaling an emergency. She'd have to see Tessa later. Eight hours, three crash deliveries, and one c-section later, Addison dragged herself into her office. She slumped at her desk, taking a moment to rest her eyes. Suddenly she remembered Tessa was supposed to be in her. But, that was ten hours ago. A quick check of her desk showed no note from her daughter letting her know she went home. Tessa always left a note.

"Must be with Derek." She concluded a loud. Then, as if summoned, Derek stuck his head in. "What must be with me?" Addison smiled at the sight of her disheveled husband. "Our lovely child."

Derek's unruly eyebrows quirked in confusion. Tessa's here? I haven't seen her all day." Addison's stomach clenched apprehensively. She pulled her phone out of her coat pocket and dialed her daughter's speed dial. Voicemail. "That's odd. Alex told me was in the hospital this morning. Said she was waiting in my office for me." Derek shrugged. "Must've gone home when we took too long."

Addison shook her head." Tessa know s to leave a note on my desk if she leaves. She also knows to always answer our calls." Her husband rolled his eyes at her worry.

"Addie, she's probably at home scavenging for food and waiting on us."

Addison ignored her husband and hurried to the nurse's station right outside. "Have you seen my daughter at all today?" When the young nurse shook her head, Addison turned back to her husband. "Something feels wrong, Derek." Before the neurosurgeon could respond, Addison whipped her phone out and redialed her daughter. The floor was eerily quiet and both parents were shocked to hear their daughter's ringtone coming from the on-call room.

The red head rushed over and pushed the door open. Tessa's ratty knapsack was at the foot of the bunk. She ripped the blankets covering all the beds off, but no other sign let her know Tessa had been there. Her perfectly manicured hand flew to her mouth as began to piece things together. She turned back to yell at Derek to call the police, but something caught her eye before she could speak. There was a dent on the frame of the bed, and a smear of blood. It would have taken something incredibly hard to dent the metal. Something like her little girl's skull.