My first Grey's Anatomy fanfic. Just a little one-shot—what if Teddy had never recovered from Henry's death and left the hospital? It is depressing, so just a warning that if you want to read something happy, I'd suggest finding a different story.

I hope you all enjoy and thank you so much for reading!

Falling Apart

Cardiothoracic surgeon Teddy Altman struggled to catch her breath, shaky hands fumbling to turn the faucet off. She was doubled over, face as pale as a ghost. Lifting her head up to see her reflection in the mirror, she let out a shocked gasp.

It had made her face pale with a yellow tinge; marked dark circles under her eyes and made her once lively irises dull; left her hair limp and stringy; chapped her lips; and ate away bits of her body and soul every single minute.

It was destroying her, making her nothing of the person she used to be.

Feeling dizzy, Teddy slowly walked from the bathroom to her bedroom, climbing back under the covers to warm her chilled body. She curled herself into a tiny ball as a way to shrink away from the world.

She reflected on her past—her days in the military, her ex-friend Owen Hunt and her ex-student Dr. Yang, her experiences at Seattle Grace Mercy West, and the events that led up to her resignation… the death of her beloved husband, Henry, and Owen's betrayal.

Her stomach clenched in pain and hunger, yet she did absolutely nothing to satiate it. She knew what her illness was called: an eating disorder.

The ex-surgeon shuddered at the diagnosis she knew about but kept secret. She had helped many patients in her past that suffered from eating disorders and were therefore experiencing heart complications. She had seen firsthand the horrors that arose from such an illness.

But it's my body… nothing will ever bring me peace… Henry will always be gone, thought Teddy.

The rapid weight loss was only made more noticeable by her already slender frame, and as a result of this, she never left her house.

It had been three months since she quit her job at the hospital. At first, her friends and colleagues had spent days trying to get her back, but when they realized their efforts had no impact, they all stopped dropping by to see her. A few of them, however, did continue to contact her by phone and email, though these she ignored.

Teddy knew that in all likelihood either Callie Torres or Arizona Robbins would check up on her in person, most likely in a week or so. They would freak out when they saw her significant weight loss, probably drag her to the hospital to get her checked out.

Yet she attempted to block out everything else in the entire world, shaking under the covers as sobs for her deceased husband racked her small frame. Feelings of grief, loneliness, worthlessness, fatigue, and depression all took over.

How could she go on…?

It was just her and her eating disorder.

Once again, thank you for reading! It really means a lot to me.