;

“i’m sure you’re happy about that. i can’t imagine jail is a nice place to be..” laurel said as she cleared her throat. to be honest, she had no idea what to say. what are you suppose to say when someone brings up they had been in jail. “i’ve been good. just busy with work and you know, taking care of my dad after his heart attack.” 

“Not so much, no. But I mean, it could have been worse,” she admitted. Juliette could see the slight discomfort in the other woman, and truthfully she always liked that reaction when she brought up her jail time. It was fun to see people have no idea what to say. “Work. God, I fucking hate work,” she sighed. “Shit, that’s a lot. How’s he doing?”

Alex let out a low whistle when Juliette said how many homes she’d been in. “That’s what, like, four sets of parents in a year? Yeah, I’d call that fucked up.” Alex came and sat down opposite her on the grass and took a swig of his water. 

He smiled at what she was saying, nodded along. “No, I get it. I feel like that about my wife. I pull all this crazy shit all the time, or at least I used to, and she still stayed. And like, the crazier part is…she really is actually happy I’m around.” 

“I think that takes a long while to sink in.”

.

“Roughly, I think,” she said with a nod. “A new one per quarter.” She shrugged. “I was too much. They’d keep me for a bit, and then realize that I wasn’t good enough to keep,” she added. Juliette wouldn’t have known stability if it came at her like a wrecking ball.

“Sometimes I think Addison is tired of my shit. She got a break from me while I was in rehab the first time, and when I was behind bars, so maybe that’s what’s kept her sane,” she joked. “Your wife is a good lady. I drank with her a little while ago, she’s okay company.”

Alex chuckled at her line about Addison. He loved Addison, but there was still a part of him that was still an upstart intern and who consequently enjoyed seeing her taken down a peg. 

“Yeah, you can say that again,” he said with an incline of his head. Teaching himself STEM was how he learned to fend for himself and his family, pulling himself all the way up to being a surgeon. “And then hopefully you can learn that even if you don’t have that consistency anywhere else, you can have consistency in your own talent, at least.” 

There was a chance he was getting too dark with all of this too quickly, but she’d brought up prison and foster care twice in like thirty seconds, so he guessed that she wanted to talk about it. “How many foster homes did you have? I had 17 in five years, but I doubt it’s too tough a record to beat for anyone stuck in the system.”

.

“Consistency in your own talent... That’s not bad advice,” she said. Truthfully, that was and always had been one of the few things she had that never changed and she could have in her back pocket. 

“34 between when I was taken away at 7 and the time Addison got me at 15,” she said. “17 in five years is still a lot,” she said. “It’s pretty fucked up, isn’t it? That kids like you and I just got tossed around from place to place because nobody was willing to step up for you.” She gave her guitar another light strum, before setting it down next to her.

“People talk, and I know that you didn’t have it easy, and in some way, I find it... nice, to have someone who at least sort of gets it. Not all of it, but at least knowing how shitty it is for nobody to want you for so long. The fact that Addison decided to keep me still blows my mind all these years later, especially with all the shit I’ve caused.”

laurel was exploring the park on her day off and boy was it a nice day for stroll in the park. as she got closer, laurel noticed juliette sitting underneath the tree and it had been awhile since she had last spoken to the other women. “i was just coming over to say hi. i noticed you sitting here while i was sitting on the bench over there.” the blonde pointed to the area where she had been sitting, before getting up. “its been awhile since i last saw you, how are you doing?” 

Juliette couldn’t offer much more than a shrug when Laurel asked how she had been doing. “I’m managing,” she said simply. What was there to say? They weren’t really close enough that she was going to tell her the deep stuff. “I’m not in prison anymore, so I guess that’s a perk,” she said. She hadn’t seen her since before her arrest a few years ago. “How are you?”

“It’s not total shit, no,” he said, chuckling a bit at her choice of words. The song was clearly good but from what he knew about Juliette, she’d had the kind of crappy upbringing Alex and Jo had both had. So he probably shouldn’t have been surprised that she’d phrase it that way. 

He smiled warmly. “Where’d you learn to play? Addison is smart, but I can’t see how she could have taught you that.”

“It definitely wasn’t Addison, god knows what I’d sound like if it were. I love her, but that woman doesn’t have a musical bone in her body,” she said. “Mostly self taught. One of my foster dads tried to teach me a bit of piano, and I eventually just figured out the rest on my own. When you don’t have an ounce of consistency in your life, you have to fend for yourself and learn things on your own,” she said with a shrug.

Despite the fact that she was currently off shift and could’ve spent the whole day in her pajamas if she wanted, Bryannah felt a need to be outside and get some fresh air for a little bit. While she wasn’t quite sure exactly where it was she wanted to go, after some driving, she’d wound up at the park. A leisurely stroll to enjoy the crisp fall air sounded like the perfect way to recharge.

It wasn’t until she was about halfway or so down the trail that a semi familiar voice caught her attention, causing the paramedic to halt and just listen for a couple of minutes. She was unfortunately more noticeable than she’d originally realized, because it wasn’t long before eyes locked with the singer’s and cheeks flushed the tiniest hint of crimson at being caught in the act.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to stare. It’s just… You have a really nice voice. That’s all.”

.

Juliette cracked a soft smile at the other’s words. She liked to pretend that she was a hard ass, someone who didn’t need praise and didn’t give a shit what people thought, but the truth was that she did care. She cared a lot, and growing up she didn’t hear a lot of positives toward her, so she didn’t always know how to take it when compliments came her way. 

“Uh, thank you,” she said, nodding slightly. “I appreciate you saying that. Did it.. the song I mean, did it sound okay?”

Alex was out jogging when he heard music. 

He stopped, jogging on the spot for a while to listen. It was good. He didn’t recognise the melody, but whether that was because he was old or because the woman had written it herself he didn’t know. Then she spoked to him.

“Hey!” he said, coming to a stop, when he realised the woman was Addison’s kid. “Did you write that yourself? It’s good!”

“Hi,” she replied, resting the acoustic down in her lap for a moment. “Thanks. Yeah, I did,” Juliette said with a small smile. “Needed something to keep my mind occupied, and I’d been fucking around with this a long time ago, back before I went to prison, and I decided to revisit it and tweak it a little bit. Glad to hear it isn’t total shit,” she added.

“You might be grown but I’m still your mother,” she said, looking at her daughter pointedly. “Thank you for the coffee. Your sister just has me a little stressed out. I didn’t mean to snap.”

“Yeah, and?” Juliette asked in return. “Oh, because of the bully she has that she won’t do fuck all about? Because I’ll go kick the kid in the nuts for her, I offered, but she seems so against it,” she commented, taking a sip of the coffee before handing it over to Addison. “She needs to toughen up and stand up for herself.”

Jo’s eyes widened in full realization of whom she’d exactly been talking to. Of course while not privy to everything, she knew of some of Juliette’s struggles and she certainly didn’t want to make any of it worse. Still, she had a feeling that whether Jo was here or not she would be drinking regardless. Unsure of how to approach this, she decided to deflect the question for a moment instead. “– Juliette! Hi, that was pretty rude of me not to greet you. I haven’t seen you in a while. How have you been doing?”

Juliette wasn’t an idiot, and she noticed the quick way Jo sidestepped the question and proceeded to properly say hello instead. “Jo,” she greeted in return. She didn’t even call Addison ‘mom’, so she wasn’t one to address other adults in her life by a more formal name. “I’m peachy,” she replied, tapping her fingers gently on the new glass in front of her. “Keeping busy at the world’s shittiest job, and seeing the hospital’s shittiest therapist. It’s all just great, really,” she said. “How about you?”

Cheap drinks and bar peanuts were still a steeple of comfort for Jo after all of these years – especially after a really hard day with patients at the hospital. A GI hemorrhage caught too late and an incredibly sad case where care for a psychiatric patient had been turned away from a dick surgeon over at Seattle Pres had completely drained all of the natural Jo perkiness from her demeanor. Luckily for the bar patrons, a few drinks deep some of it had come back. At least enough to be offering free drinks to anyone with a long face in the bar. 

“I’m serious, next round’s on me. Whatever your tastebuds desire.”

“Or, consider this,” Juliette began, realizing who was beside her. She did not want to be ratted out for being there. Yeah, she was an adult, but she certainly wasn’t a responsible one. People had their eyes out for her, and she knew that. “I’ll buy you a couple of rounds, anything you’d like, but you don’t mention at all to my mother that your drinking buddy for the night was me. Does that work for you?”

“ and that would be me. ” rory put on a small smile and nodded once. their familial ties were both a gift and curse. “ it’s such a winning combination honestly. charm with a little bit of spice. ” they laughed once and lifted their drink to their lips taking a sip. “ rory, ” they introduced.

“Charm, sure, but where does the spice come from?” she asked them. Juliette made quick work of what was in her own glass, drinking it as if it were water before flagging down the bartender for another. “Rory,” she repeated. “And what’s an attractive person like you doing drinking alone?”

Addison frowned hearing her name being called from across the room. When the voice got closer, the redhead turned around slowly and said, “Thirty seconds. That’s all you get. Go.”

“Jesus Christ, do you think maybe you should use those thirty seconds to lighten the fuck up?” Juliette snapped. “I was just going to see if you wanted this coffee I grabbed for you after my shift, but if you’re going to be dramatic like this I’ll just drink it myself.”

He cleared his throat to hide the amused scoff that followed her words. He had to admit, being as old as he was, being hit on by someone so much younger was flattering, but Juliette definitely wasn’t his type - nor did he want to end up on Addison’s bad side for a one-night stand with her daughter, either. “You know, I probably shouldn’t be caught drinking on the job. Wouldn’t go well for me.”

“Colour me surprised. You’d be amazed by how many employees here usually take me up on my offers,” she told him. “Both the booze and the sex. What the fuck is wrong with you?” She didn’t take rejection all that well, but she also had drugs and liquor coursing through her system. She took a few steps closer, stumbling slightly over her own feet. “If you and I went somewhere a little more private, nobody would ever know,” she said, raising one of the bottles up toward him.

closed starter for @damagedmontgomery​

rory didn’t exactly know how they found themself at joe’s. it wasn’t the first time being in this bar. they’d meet up with friends, or collegues, or siblings and get a drink or two at the end of the night. usually it was just a casual drink after work. they’d never found themself at the bar because they didn’t know where to go and they were a little lost and alone. they never really went just  because they needed some time to let loose. but they’d gone through hell and back in the past year and rory decided it was time to just get out. try to start making some friends that weren’t directly connected to the hospital or weren’t their sibling. do something that wasn’t sulking.

“ hey! can i just grab a rum and coke from ya? ” they ordered before placing themself at the edge of the bar making friendly conversation with the bartender for a few minutes. it wasn’t long before the bartender’s attention was taken away to take another order. a face that they recognized but weren’t exactly close to. “ hey, juliette right? ”

If there was one thing Juliette was good at, it was lying. So there she sat with another chip from AA, claiming sobriety, despite the fact that she’d been drinking again for months. Her therapist didn’t know, the people at the meetings didn’t know, and to her knowledge, Addison didn’t know. So she was feeling pretty good about herself.

As the bartender took her order, a simple vodka tonic, she glanced over as she heard her name. “Yeah, that’s me,” she said. She looked over them for a moment. “You’re one of McSteamy and Crazy Grey’s kids, right?”

While mass carnage was usually a time for great joy in this hospital - something Donovan never fully understood - he enjoyed to stay away from the chaos and only come when beckoned. He would let the other doctors, particularly the interns and residents who were always jumping to try and get in on a surgery however they could, do the initial checkups. He figured if there was a cardiac case, he would be paged. He instead began to wander the halls of the hospital, trying to stay unseen by anyone, doctor or patient alike, though this didn’t last long. When he heard someone talking to him, he turned and spied a somewhat familiar face, though it took some time before he could remember her name. “Juliette, isn’t it?” he asked, remembering her as one of the Montgomery children. “Were you injured in the diner accident? You’d be better served in the pit, if so.”

“Good memory,” she commented when he remembered her name. “Mm, fuck no. I wouldn’t be caught dead there during a bustling time like today,” she said. “I’m more of a post-sex midnight diner.” Juliette chuckled. “Definitely not the kind of check up I mean,” she told him, shooting him a wink. She took a sip from the open beer she had, before pulling out another. “Need one of these?” she asked.