Title: Through a Mother's Eyes
Author: promisedblueskies
Rating: PG-13/T
Fandom: "The Nine Lives of Chloe King," Chloe/Alek
Summary: Following the finale, all Meredith wants is for her daughter to be happy again, and it's clear that can only happen through an unlikely source. Watch the love story of Chloe & Alek develop through her mother's eyes.
Warnings: Spoilers through 1x10.

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Meredith prides herself on always having the answers for Chloe. She knows instinctively when something's wrong with her daughter, which is all the more impressive lately, since Chloe's not exactly letting her in. Meredith has friends with kids around Chloe's age, and they all tell her the same thing; it's a frustrating but totally normal part of being the parent of a teenager, to be on the outside looking in.

Nothing about it feels normal to Meredith, though.

She's with Whitley Rezza when he learns his son is dead, and all she can think of is rushing home to Chloe. She hopes she'll be the one to break the news to her, be able to hold her in her arms and assure her everything will be okay. But being a mom is a bit like having a superpower sometimes, and as Meredith gets closer to home, a lump forms in her throat, because she just knows. Chloe was with Brian when he died, she realizes, before she even sees her daughter's face.

Chloe doesn't let her hold her in her arms, and when Meredith tries to tell her everything will be alright, Chloe just looks at her like she's crazy. The distance grows with each passing day, and Meredith's barely able to get through to Chloe enough to convince her to take a shower. Her daughter's hurting, so a lot of Meredith's house rules fall away; she looks the other way when she notices Chloe's bedroom door is locked, and she bites her tongue when Chloe takes food back to the bedroom. Honestly, Meredith's just relieved she's eating at all.

There's no timetable for grief, all the self-help books she buys remind her. It's little consolation, though, when it's your daughter whose heart is broken into a million pieces. Meredith misses the days when all it took to heal Chloe's wounds was a kiss and a smile.

She takes times off from work. She tries to get Chloe to talk, of course, and when that fails, looks into therapy. But Chloe's unwilling, and Meredith's starting to think the entire summer will past this way. And then, just over a week after Brian's death, Alek Petrov appears at her front door.

He looks about as good as Chloe, and the dark circles under his eyes are testament to a lack of sleep. It seems like another lifetime when her concern for Chloe was that she was juggling two boys, but that comes to mind now, and she almost tells Alek now's not the time. But she hesitates, taking in Alek's bloodshot eyes and untamed hair, and tells him he can go up to Chloe's room, but God help him if the door's closed.

Even if Chloe doesn't react well to seeing him, any type of reaction is an improvement at this point, Meredith reasons.

Alek's upstairs for exactly an hour, a whole fifty-eight minutes longer than it had taken Chloe to kick her out. She's never been one to eavesdrop on her daughter before, but it takes all of Meredith's willpower not to, tonight.

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Alek comes by the next morning with a small bag. Meredith's relatively sure he wouldn't actually be trying to smuggle alcohol upstairs, but she uses that as an excuse to check the bag's contents, anyway. It's full of candy necklaces and Mike and Ikes and pixie sticks, all of Chloe's favorites from when she was a kid.

Meredith gives him a warm smile and sends him upstairs. This time, his visit lasts a bit longer. Alek forgets and closes the bedroom door, but when Meredith reaches it, she hears Chloe crying. It's a pretty desperate state of affairs when her daughter's tears make her smile, but it's progress. Sometimes a good cry is the best medicine.

When Alek leaves, he passes the bag he'd arrived with to Meredith, offering her a small shrug. "I've heard pixie sticks can really cheer you up," he tells her, and Meredith doesn't realize until he's already left that he wasn't talking about Chloe.

By the end of the week, Meredith's pretty sure that she looks forward to Alek's visits more than Chloe does. Every morning when she awakes and remembers what's happened, her heart breaks all over again for Chloe, and Alek's visits provide a brief respite.

Friday's visit doesn't go well, though, and Alek's walking out of the stairs less than fifteen minutes after he arrived. "Hold on," Meredith says, reaching out to stop Alek before he reaches the door. "What happened?"

If Chloe were up for talking, Meredith knows she'd complain that it was none of her business. But this is her daughter, goddammit, and that makes it her business. Alek seems to realize that, too, because after initially tensing up, he relaxes a bit, slumping his shoulders and shaking his head.

"She didn't want to talk," he tells her simply, and gestures toward his head. "She made that clear by throwing a book at me. David Copperfield, too, so she wasn't kidding." At Meredith's wince, he adds quickly, "She missed. I have good reflexes."

She raises an eyebrow at that, reminded of her curiosity concerning Alek. They don't make teenage boys like they used to, sure, but Meredith's been convinced that Alek is some sort of exception ever since that break-in. Even if teenage boys are stronger now than they used to be, with all their special protein shakes and creatine mixes, she's fairly sure it takes something more to incapacitate three adults alone. Maybe it's just the added boost of adrenaline that comes from someone you care about being in danger, she muses now.

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After a couple weeks, Chloe's doing a bit better. She's still not talking to Meredith, but she leaves her room more often, and eats in front of the television sometimes. Meredith doesn't have to remind her to take a shower anymore, so she's mostly comfortable in returning to work.

Alek's visits become routine, and Meredith can be sure he'll arrive around 4:30 each day. It's always after she returns home from work, and he's gone before dinner's ready. Sometimes the visits last two hours, and sometimes significantly less.

It's after one of those shorter visits that Meredith stops Alek as he says his goodbyes. "Stay for dinner," she offers, studying his appearance. She's sure Chloe won't be down, since there definitely seems to be a correlation between the length of Alek's visits and how Chloe's night goes.

Alek's eyes dart to the door and back to Meredith, and she offers him a small smile. "It will be done soon," Meredith assures him, pressing it a bit. "I won't interrogate you. I promise." It's tempting, sure, but her motherly instincts are kicking in as she looks at Alek.

He's been her savior lately, the only reason Meredith's not out of her mind with worry about Chloe, and that's made it all too easy to overlook the signs of weakness in him. His eyes are still bloodshot and rimmed by dark circles. His hair is in need of a cut and he's looking thinner than usual. She can see him weighing the offer in his mind, and then he nods slowly, the promise of a home-cooked meal winning out.

Meredith gestures to the vegetables on the cutting board, telling him, "I'm just going to finish chopping these and then I'll put the steak on. You can watch TV or use the computer, if you'd like."

He hesitates, glancing at the cutting board, and then shrugs. "I'll help."

It quickly becomes clear that Alek's never prepared anything more complicated than macaroni and cheese in his life, but Meredith's patient, and she doesn't mind teaching him. It seems like the least she can do after everything he's done for her daughter.

Alek's surprisingly skilled at small talk, and they pass the time talking about the weather and the Giants and predicting how Cal will do in the Pac-12 this year. Meredith doesn't even realize it's just small talk until about ten minutes before the steak's ready, when she asks Alek about his accent.

He stiffens noticeably, and washes the cutting board even though it's already clean. "My parents adopted me when I was three, and brought me to England," he tells her, and there's something off in his voice.

Meredith's stumbled across something, and she's not really sure what, so she tries to keep her voice light and conversational so Alek doesn't get more flustered. "Oh. I thought Chloe said you lived with your cousin?"

Alek swallows, and there's something very deliberate in the way he keeps his eyes cast down toward the cutting board. "I did. She and my aunt were killed recently. Car accident."

If being a mom gives you superpowers, one of them is definitely being able to spot lies a mile away. Meredith frowns, troubled, but doesn't push it. "I'm sorry, Alek. I didn't realize."

He doesn't respond, leaving Meredith with her thoughts. She's fairly sure she remembers Chloe mentioning that his cousin was Jasmine, so it's odd that she hadn't heard about this before now. Jasmine was - had been, she mentally corrects – a new friend of Chloe's, so she doesn't understand why she wouldn't have mentioned it. Unless…

"Was this around the time Brian-?" She doesn't finish the question, letting its ending hang between them.

"Same night," Alek says quietly.

Meredith wasn't expecting that, and her eyebrows shoot up as she studies Alek's profile. She was already marveling at Alek's magnanimity, coming by daily to help Chloe in her grief for a boy who'd been his competition in life. But now, understanding the heaviness of heart with which he came, Meredith is in awe.

He's in love with my baby, she thinks, but keeps that to herself.

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The next morning, Meredith's surprised when she stumbles down the stairs in desperate need of coffee and finds Chloe sitting at the counter island, spooning cereal into her mouth. "You're up early," she says, not sure Chloe wants to talk.

Chloe glances up, the spoon freezing an inch or so from her mouth. "I haven't been to bed yet."

That makes more sense. Chloe's sleep schedule has been pretty much nonexistent since Brian died, and Meredith decided early on that if she was going to pick her battles, that wasn't going to be one of them. "Oh." She shovels fresh coffee grounds into the coffeemaker and adds water, turning it on before pushing her luck. "How are you feeling?"

It's like Chloe slips on a mask right in front of her, all expression falling from her face. "How do you think?" she asks, and starts to get up.

"Wait!" Meredith tries, but it doesn't work on Chloe as well as it's worked on Alek. Chloe barely slows her steps. "I won't bug you, okay? I just want to talk to you."

Chloe hesitates in the door frame, and turns to look at Meredith, still uneasy. But she stops, and that's enough to make Meredith hopeful.

Except she can't think of anything to talk about now that she has Chloe's attention. She has a million questions she wants to ask, but all of them will make Chloe run from the room regretting that she ever stopped. And then she thinks of the previous night's dinner. "I was thinking," she starts, as if it's something she's been considering longer than a split second. "How would you feel if Alek stayed for dinner after his visits? I don't think he's really eating much."

Just hearing Alek's name seems to ease Chloe's tension, and she shrugs. "Okay."

It's not much, but it's a step in the right direction, and Meredith tries for another. "Will you join us tonight, then? I'm thinking about making rigatoni."

Chloe shrugs again, and Meredith figures it's as close to a yes as she'll get. "Alek likes fettuccine," Chloe offers, and a smile spreads across Meredith's lips.

"Good to know."

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All it takes is one dinner to remind Meredith that Alek's not truly on her side, except for the fact that they both want Chloe to feel better again. She's essentially the common enemy at the dinner, even though she doesn't do or say anything worthy of it.

They expect her to be pushy, Meredith realizes, and pretty much everything she says, Alek glances at Chloe first to see how she reacts. Meredith can't even be bothered by it, because it's oddly sweet, how the two seem to be completely on the same page.

It doesn't escape her notice, either, when Alek gazes upon Chloe with fondness, or the way Chloe's shoulders slump and the tension seeps away when Alek speaks. They speak for each other, too, Chloe answering the questions Meredith directs at Alek when his mouth is full, and Alek answering those posed to Chloe that she just doesn't bother to respond to.

They're already a couple, Meredith thinks, and they just haven't realized it yet.

They make plans for pizza the following night before Alek leaves, and Chloe hangs back. She clears the dishes, unasked, and Meredith watches her from across the room.

"Mom," Chloe says as she finishes, setting the last plate in the strainer and spinning around to look at Meredith. "Thank you. That was… nice."

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After that first dinner, Chloe starts to come out of her shell a bit more. She's up early the next morning (and insists she did indeed sleep at Meredith's questioning look) and has started the coffee by the time Meredith comes downstairs. She even suggests they make their pizza on English muffins that night, like when she was little.

Alek draws a smile from Chloe that night, after insisting he'd put the English muffins in the oven himself so he could spell her name out in mozzarella.

The next night, Meredith pushes her luck and suggests they go out to eat, and it's her turn to smile when Chloe doesn't shoot her down. They eat at The Cheesecake Factory, and the kids enjoy their cheesecake so much that Meredith buys one of the ten inch cakes from the bakery for future desserts.

The dinners become such a staple of Meredith's day that she's surprised the first time Alek can't make one after over a month. She asks Chloe about it, and her eyes go wide before she explains vaguely that Alek has more responsibilities now, since his aunt died.

It occurs to Meredith, not for the first time, to inquire about where Alek's living. In the past, she's kept the question to herself, because Alek's clearly not comfortable talking about himself and Chloe would shut down when forced to talk about anything more involved than the weather. But things have improved substantially with Chloe, so she tries again.

Chloe's reluctant to answer at first, but then reconsiders. "He's on his own," she tells Meredith. It's what Meredith expects, but her heart breaks for him all the same. He's just a child, really, and she can't imagine if Chloe were in that position at their age. Chloe reads the concern on Meredith's face, and bites her lip, looking suddenly apprehensive. "Do you think he could stay here?" she asks, voice hopeful.

Meredith frowns. She shouldn't even really consider it, she thinks, because there's clearly something between Alek and Chloe and their mix of teenage hormones and vulnerability surely can't end well. It would be like throwing a lit match next to a container of gasoline, and just hoping that there aren't any spills and the plastic is enough to keep the two separated. It's such a bad idea, but…

Chloe seems to sense Meredith is wavering, so she adds quickly, "I think he's given up on someone being there for him. His birth parents died when he was little, and then his adoptive parents gave up on him, and now with Jasmine and Valentina gone…" She trails off with a shrug, looking up innocently at Meredith.

And then there's that. Meredith sighs, and runs a hand through her hair, thinking about how Alek's been there for Chloe in a way she hasn't been able to. About how he's still just a kid – and one she knows can't cook – on his own. About how he's far too close on giving up on the world, and for good reason.

"Fine," she tells Chloe after a minute, "But he's not allowed in your bedroom when I'm not home or when I'm asleep. And the door has to stay open, always."

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Alek's begun sticking around after dinner by now to help with the dishes, and Meredith and Chloe devise a plan before he arrives. It's an offer Meredith needs to make on her own, so Chloe excuses herself after dinner to shower, and Meredith follows Alek over to the sink with the dishes.

He washes and she dries, making casual conversation for a minute before getting to the point. "Alek, Chloe and I were talking the other day, and we want you to stay here for a bit."

Alek freezes, setting the cup he's washing down in the sink and turning to look at Meredith, eyes wide.

He opens his mouth to protest, so Meredith continues quickly, "Chloe told me you've been living on your own, and I don't think that's right. I don't want to call social services, though, because that never seems to turn out well, and you're already like a son to me." It's true, she realizes as she says it. "I'm not saying it should be permanent, but please. It would give Chloe – and me – peace of mind to know you're here and safe."

Alek's quiet for a minute, and he picks up the cup he'd put down a minute earlier and starts scrubbing its side. "Okay," he finally says, and Meredith lets out a sigh of relief. "But only until I find my own place."

She can't imagine how odd it's been for him, living in a place filled with memories of loved ones he just lost, alone with their ghosts. "Until we find you a place," she corrects with a small smile. "Preferably somewhere with an adult."

It's both a practical and a maternal concern; Alek's still a minor and needs adult supervision, even if he doesn't understand that. Plus, Meredith's sure something will eventually happen between Alek and Chloe, even if they don't see it yet themselves, and it's better if he's out of her house by then.

"I already told Chloe, but we're going to have some pretty strict rules. You can't be in her bedroom when I'm not here and conscious to supervise you two, and we'll work something out with showering. She'll shower at night and you in the morning or vice versa. Something like that?" Handing him the dish towel, she takes a couple steps backward, and tells him, "I'll go make up the couch for you."

"Ms. King?" She's already out the door, and his voice is so soft she barely hears.

She pokes her head back into the room, and smiles warmly. "I think you can call me Meredith now, Alek."

He nods, meeting her gaze. "Meredith, then… thank you."

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