Thanks for giving this story a try! I don't know how to describe where this is going, because I honestly have no idea yet. Just trying to write something a little different from what I've done in the past. I'd love for you to leave a review after this chapter so I can hear what you think so far. Other than that, I hope you like it!

Seattle Grace Hospital. It's been one of the highest ranking teaching hospitals in the United States for years now. A hospital that's known not only for its high standards and well known surgeons, but also for its cutting edge research and equipment. That's why Cristina Yang had to go to it.

Since her father gave her her first medical kit for Hanukkah, she knew she was meant to be a surgeon. Better yet, she knew she was destined for cardio. By age eleven she was watching open heart surgeries on Discovery Health, age fourteen she was reading medical journals and at sixteen she was graduating high school early and leaving for Stanford.

Stanford gave her every opportunity she could have imagined for herself. She got to work under legendary doctors and surgeons. She wrote research papers from surgeons who published the research she used. Stanford got her into the Seattle Grace Hospital internship program.

Her plan was to leave it all behind. Her crazy mother who didn't understand her and her insane step father who was wrapped up in his own practice. She watched her mother sneak over to the neighbors every night and her step father went to way too many conferences to ever be plausible. She wanted to leave her ex-boyfriend who slept with her ex-best friend Izzie. Beverley Hills wasn't home to her, it never really was. The only part of her life back home she knew she might miss was her kid sister.

Fast forward nearly fifteen years and she was living her dream. She did her residency and fellowship at the hospital of her dreams. Not only did it live up to her expectations, but it surpassed them. It was where she fell in love for the first time with her mentor, Dr. Preston Burke. It didn't last forever, but she soon found out that nothing at Seattle Grace did. Over the years she watched one of her best friends (though she'd never admit it), George O'Malley, die in an accident. She survived a shooter in the hospital, an explosion, super storms and a plane crash…and those were just scratching the surface. It was nothing that she didn't know she was getting into by going to work for Seattle Grace. The hospital was legendary in the surgical world.

She settled nicely into her role as a Cardiothoracic Surgeon. Though she wasn't a department head yet, she was okay with it because she was still working with and learning from Dr. Altman. Teddy Altman. Her cardio God. She considered almost every cutting edge procedure she learned to be because of that woman. She worshipped the ground the woman walked on and she wasn't scared to say so. Luckily for her though, they were able to become good friends after getting off to a rocky start.

Her favorite thing to do after getting off a long shift is come home and put her headphones in. She turns up the music, something she can dance to. She needs to block out the repetitive sound of the heart monitors. It's the favorite part of her day and the worst. It's the sound of the heart, the organ she's studied for years. It gives you life, but it's life that can be taken away from you in an instant…something she's seen far too many times over the years. To her the human heart is a bittersweet symphony.

The music blocks out the rest of her day and allows her mind to unwind. For a minute she closes her eyes and jumps up and down. Not in an obnoxious way, but in a way that matches the beat. Her hips sway rather quickly back and forth and she runs a hand through her thick and curly hair. She's unaware of her surroundings and unconcerned. She's absorbed in her distraction.

While staying in beat with the song playing, she cracks open a bottle of beer. It's seven am, but might as well be seven pm to her. In her trance she misses the sound of two of her roommates coming home much like she did minutes ago.

"If I didn't know that her personality completely sucks then I might find this hot," Alex mocked, motioning over to his old friend who has yet to see them.

Jackson chuckled. "I think this is the first time we've agreed on something." He gave Alex a friendly pat on the back while still laughing.

They watched her take another swig of her beer and pull out leftover pizza from the night before. In a typical Cristina way she chowed into it. Like she'd said so many times before, leftover pizza's better cold.

"Beer?" Alex asked Jackson as he walked over to the fridge. Cristina jumped when she saw him in her peripheral. Jackson grinned and Alex rolled his eyes. He grabbed a beer for him and his friend and watched Cristina pull out her headphones and drop her iPod carelessly on to the counter.

"You need to get laid," Alex informed Cristina, as if it was something she didn't know. It had been months since her last break up with Owen and they were still miles apart from each other on the kid issue. She knew she needed to let him go or give in, but both seemed impossible.

She rolled her eyes. "Please. Cristina Yang depends on no man to get action." She told them bluntly, they quickly snickered at what she implied. They would have called her out on it if they hadn't saw some of her 'toys' laying around before.

"Hey, Karev…are you ever going to tell us what's going on between you and Jo?" Jackson asked him, probably trying to change the subject. Something about thinking about Yang's 'toys' made him uncomfortable.

Alex shrugged nonchalantly. "Nothin' to tell." After that he went back to looking for a clean bowl for cereal. Both of the other doctors in the room eyed each other and him, clearly calling him out on his crap.

"Oh whatever. Evil spawn here's been doing the nasty with one of his little interns for weeks now." Cristina mocked from her side of the kitchen. She barely looked up from her pizza while she teased him.

"Yeah, I know that part. I think we all know that part. Anyone with ears anyway." Jackson eyed his lying friend but didn't give up. "I think it's more than that though."

Alex's face turned red and he ignored him completely. "The man's in love." Alex ignored Jackson completely. He could retaliate by bringing up the fact that Jackson hadn't even attempted a relationship since he'd known him, but he didn't. Not worth the argument, besides, he wanted this awkward conversation to end as soon as possible. He headed for the stairs going up to his bedroom.

"You off until tomorrow morning too?" Jackson asked Cristina awkwardly. They never had too much to talk about. Alex was the only thing they even had slightly had in common.

"Yep. Can't wait. Fresh meat." Cristina boasted. It was her favorite time of the year. Better than Christmas, Hanukkah and even better than sex. She followed up her statement with a happy dance that cracked Jackson up. What she didn't tell him was the other reason she was so excited for tomorrow.