A/N: I've been thinking about this story for a while now, and I finally wrote the first installment. I hope you like it. Basically, it centers on Zola, Bailey, Tuck, Sofia, and the children of some other Grey Sloan surgeons when they start working at the hospital. Each chapter will start and end with a narration from Zola (the italics). She'll probably be the central character, however they are all important, and I will be happy to pay some more attention to any characters/couples/storylines you find particularly interesting.
Since these chapters (or episodes, as I refer to them as, since this is basically like a novel formatted version of the show) are so long, I don't know how often I will update. It really depends on the word count and my ideas. I will try to post a new episode every few weeks or more – if you like this first chapter, that is.
This story will have some mature themes. They won't be frequent, but in this first chapter I did reference past addictions, sexual abuse and eating disorders. I also talk about death – but I mean, this is Grey's Anatomy we're talking about, so you're probably used to that.
Please tell me if you guys want another chapter – what you like, what you don't like, etc. I'll also try to fit in any requests for future storylines, but just know I probably won't be able to get to them right away. I also plan to have some past Grey's characters make appearances to stir up some drama later on. If there's someone you'd really love to see, you can request for them to make an appearance too.
So, without further ado (well, except for that pesky disclaimer), here is the pilot of Zola's Anatomy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's Anatomy.
"Why do you want to be a surgeon?"
It's not a difficult question. Eight words, twenty four letters. It should be just as simple to answer.
Zola Shepherd impatiently tapped her fingers against the counter of the nurses' station, her eyes on the door to the on-call room. She checked her watch for what had to be the fifth time since she'd been standing there. Fifteen minutes. She'd been waiting for fifteen minutes now.
Surgery is practically in my blood. Everyone knew I was destined to be a surgeon like my mom and dad were, as well as my grandmother, and my aunts…I could go on. I come from a long line of doctors. Even all of our family friends are doctors. But the family legacy and what not isn't why I chose to go to med school. It couldn't possibly be. There had to be some other reason.
Slowly, Zola approached the door. She could hear moaning – great, just great. She hesitated before lifting her hand up, wrapping her knuckles against it. "Sof? It's me. I know you're in there."
The moaning suddenly ceased, and there was a loud sigh, obviously from her best friend. The door opened and Sofia Sloan Torres gave her an annoyed look as she did the drawstring on her pants. Her scrub top was wrinkled and her brown hair was sticking up in the back, her lipstick smudged at the corners of her lips. "What do you want, Zola?" She asked. "I'm kind of in the middle of something here."
Zola looked down awkwardly. "I know, I kind of heard that…" She looked at Sofia's company, a blonde-haired guy without a shirt on and hands over his crotch.
Sofia sighed. "Zola, meet Pete, Pete, meet Zola." She pointed to them as she said their names.
"Actually," The guy interjected. "It's Paul."
"We're having a conversation here, Pete! Don't interrupt!" Sofia snapped at him, causing Paul to look down at the hands over his privates and keep silent. Sofia turned back to Zola now, straightening out her clothes. "What is it, Zo?"
"It's July 1st," She said, and when Sofia only gave her a blank stare in return, she clarified. "It's new intern day."
"Oh," The other woman nodded, and stepped out of the on-call room and slammed the door before Paul could say anything.
Zola looked at her. "Aren't you going to say goodbye?"
"To who?" Sofia asked, looking at her quizzically. "To Peyton?"
Zola laughed and rolled her eyes, and the two best friends started walking down the hallway together. "Where do you find all these guys?"
"Well, I met him in radiology," Sofia replied. "Not exactly boyfriend material, but I needed a fix."
"Since when do you look for boyfriend material?" Zola questioned. She'd never met someone as promiscuous as Sofia. It seemed that she had a new boy toy practically every day – not just radiologists, but other residents, interns, male nurses, and guys from the grocery store or the gym on the weekends. And since the two not only worked together, but shared an apartment too, Zola usually had to bear witness to every single one of them.
"Oh, shut it!" Sofia laughed, playfully slugging her friend on the arm. "So, are you excited? Fresh blood today!" She meant the interns of course. As fourth year residents, they both would have several assigned to their services, and it was their job to teach them. Zola was usually pretty good about teaching her interns, while Sofia thought most of them were idiots, but enjoyed having people to bring her coffee.
"I guess," Zola said, shrugging her shoulders. This year, though, she really wasn't in the mood to be anyone's mentor, considering…
"Bailey's gonna be an intern this year, right?" Sofia asked, unintentionally cutting off her thoughts. Zola nodded. "That's something to look forward to, isn't it? You'll get to boss your little bro around!"
"I already do," Zola replied, and the two girls laughed. They reached the spot where they were supposed to go to get their intern assignments, and stopped walking. "So," Zola began to say. "Are you at all optimistic that this year's batch –"
Sofia wasn't listening though, she was staring at someone over Zola's shoulder. She smiled and reached up to wave. "Tuck! Hey Tuck, over here!"
With wide eyes, Zola spun around quickly. Sure enough, Tuck Jones himself was standing a few feet away, grinning at Sofia. His face faltered when his eyes locked with Zola's, and he gave her a half-smile that was probably meant to be reassuring.
Some days though, I'm convinced anyone who chose this must be crazy.
Derek Bailey Shepherd stumbled through the doors to the Grey Sloan Memorial ER, his best friend Wyatt Karev slumped over his shoulder. "Any free beds?" He asked one of the nurses, Mindy. She'd always been his favorite in the ER when he was a kid – she used to always hang up his and Zola's pictures at the nurses' station.
Nurse Mindy nodded towards one now. "Over there. What's wrong with him?"
Bailey turned to his friend and grabbed him by the chin, trying to straighten him out. Wyatt merely only looked up for a second and then drooped back down again, causing Bailey to emit a sigh. "He's drunk off his ass." He told Mindy, readjusting his grip on him.
The nurse rose an eyebrow. "It's not even seven am." She said, and Bailey nodded, as if to say 'I know'. "Well, he's a real keeper, isn't he?"
"It's the Karev genes." Bailey joked, and Nurse Mindy laughed. It wasn't that Bailey had any problems with Wyatt's family – he loved them, actually. Wyatt's dad was Bailey's Uncle Alex (not his actual uncle, just one of his parents' oldest friends) as well as his godfather, but before he'd met Wyatt's mom, Bailey's Aunt Jo, he'd been known for his womanizing and cocky demeanor. And Wyatt was too much like that younger version of his father for his own good. Wyatt was definitely a serial sleeper, the kind of guy who was handsome and knew it. With his perfect dark brown hair and eyes, his impressive body, and charming smile, he could make any girl weak at the knees. Wyatt also always managed to get himself into stupid situations – like showing up to his first day as an intern trashed – and as his best friend, Bailey often went down with him.
And honestly, not that long ago, Bailey had been exactly like him. He was just as good looking, having his father Derek's thick, dark hair and striking eyes, and together, the two had been partners in crime, so to speak. In high school, they'd been total players, the kind of guy all of the girls wanted, from the nerd to the prom queen. When they'd attended University of Washington together for college and medical school, they'd joined the same fraternity, and had a lot of fun going to parties, hooking up with girls, and getting drunk. But now, Bailey was twenty-seven, a grown man. When he'd gotten this internship, he'd decided it was time to start acting like it. It seemed, however, that it would take a lot more for Wyatt to change his ways.
Bailey led him to the bed and gently lowered his friend down. Wyatt stirred, and reached up to touch his forehead. "Shit, man." He mumbled, trying to sit up. "My head feels like it's being ripped in half."
"That's because you're wasted right now," Bailey told him, with just a hint of annoyance. "Now lie back down and sleep it off, you're not going to even get a look at an OR if you have this kind of blood-alcohol level."
Wyatt laughed and did what Bailey told him to. "Oh, right!" He said. "Work!" He laughed again. "I totally forgot."
Bailey discreetly rolled his eyes. He really did care about Wyatt, but sometimes being his friend was a pretty damn hard job. "What the Hell were you doing last night anyway?"
"I met these chicks at Joe's," Wyatt said, rolling onto his side while Nurse Mindy stuck her head in. She offered Bailey some painkillers, and he smiled and took them from her. She ducked back out while he poured some into his hand for Wyatt. "They were super hot," His friend was continuing. "Hmm, blonde. With crop tops. And bellybutton rings. It was a wild night."
Bailey chuckled and handed him the meds. "Wow," He said sarcastically. "I'm so sorry I couldn't be there."
Wyatt smirked and took the painkillers, popping them into his mouth and swallowing. "I tried to call you, dude."
Bailey patted his shoulder. "Just get some sleep, okay buddy? And leave the nurses alone today." Wyatt laughed, then closed his eyes and tried to oblige.
Bailey checked the time. He had to report for assignments in fifteen minutes. He'd have to hurry. The youngest Shepherd went to the locker room and changed in record time, then headed back to the ER to see how Wyatt was doing. When he arrived, he saw a woman who had definitely not been there before. She was gorgeous, there was no denying that – brunette ponytail, pretty brown eyes, awesome body. "Can I help you with something?" He called out to her.
The girl smiled at him – God, she had a really nice smile. "Yes," She said. "I'm looking for Dr. Karev."
Bailey looked this girl up and down. She definitely didn't look like a blonde with a crop top and bellybutton piercing. She was wearing light blue scrubs, the same color as his – had Wyatt already used the Karev blend of good looks, sleaziness and charm to woo an intern or resident? "Well, you're in luck, I know all of the Dr. Karev's here." He said. "There's three of them, which one are you looking for?"
"Four," The girl corrected.
Bailey shook his head. "No, there's three. Dr. Wyatt Karev, Dr. Alex Karev, Dr. Jo Karev. Three."
"No, I'm pretty sure there's four," The girl said, sticking her hands into her pockets and smirking.
"I told you, there's three. What – can a pretty girl like you not count?"
The girl laughed. "I don't know if I should be flattered or insulted!" She said. "Well anyway, I really don't care which one of them I see."
"Wyatt's right over here," Bailey said, leading her to his friend's bed. Why did this girl think there were four Dr. Karev's? He'd known the family all of his life. He knew only three Dr. Karev's worked here. Before he could say anything else, the girl had already thrown back the curtain so she could enter, and shut it closed in Bailey's face.
Bailey stopped for a second, shocked. Who did she think she was? He opened the curtain again, to give her a piece of his mind, but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Wyatt and the girl engaged in friendly conversation, laughing and teasing each other.
"Oh come on Megs, lighten up." Wyatt was saying. "I don't need you to act like my mom. I have, well, Mom for that."
Wait a minute.
"God, look at you Wyatt! You're a mess! Remind me how I shared a uterus with you for thirty-six weeks?"
She was –
Megan Karev grinned when she saw he'd joined them. "Hello Bailey," She said, turning her body away from Wyatt and towards him. "Good to see you remember me."
Bailey could only gawk at her. This was his best friend's sister, whose pigtails he had pulled when they were kids? Who used to have glasses and an overbite? Who had dyed her hair purple during freshman year and started wearing ripped fishnets and black T-shirts? To say he was dumbfounded would be an understatement. "You look so…different."
Megan smiled, looking him over from his mused, dark curls to the scuffed up pair of sneakers he couldn't bear to throw away. "And you look exactly the same," She told Bailey. "I see you and Wyatt are still partying like frat boys?"
Bailey gulped. He had a feeling today would be a very interesting first day.
Lydia Hunt sighed and shook her hand out to try to regain the feeling in her fingers. While being The Chief's daughter definitely had its perks, the paperwork he often saddled her with was not one of them. She reached up to pull her hair back into a ponytail – despite the fact that she was adopted, her father, Owen, and her looked a lot alike. They had the same red hair. Her mother always said it was one of the reasons she'd been drawn to her when her foster parents had brought into the ER that first time, despite her general dislike of small children.
Despite looking like her adoptive father, Lydia had always been more like her mother – the Cristina Yang, as she often liked to brag – personality wise. Lydia was hardcore, career oriented. She'd had an interest in her mother's specialty of cardio practically since the day she'd treated her for arrhythmia at the age of seven. Now that she was finally an attending this year, after five long years of residency and two of fellowship, she was more determined than ever. Lydia was going to be the best cardio surgeon at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, if she had anything to say about it. And someday, when her mother retired – because even she would have to eventually – Lydia was going to be the next chief of cardiothoracic surgery. You didn't make it far in life by dreaming small, after all.
"Hey, kiddo." Owen said, walking over to her now. Lydia smiled, letting him kiss her forehead. "How's the paperwork going?"
"Slowly and tediously," Lydia said, taking another swig of her coffee – black, no sugars, because even her drinks had to be hardcore. Lydia Hunt had never been one to half-ass anything.
"Well, if you're going to be head of cardio someday, you'll need to get used to it." Owen said. Lydia grinned – yes, everything was going according to plan.
"Is there anything I can scrub in on today?" She asked. She batted her eyelashes discreetly, because Owen could never say no to her when she looked at him like that.
At least, she thought he couldn't. "Not today, Lyd." He said. "It's new intern day. You need to report for your assignments." He smiled, patted her on the back and said he'd see her later, then continued on his way before he could see her face fall.
That was another thing Lydia had inherited from her mother – she really was a surgery whore.
Connor Avery sat up in bed, rubbed his head as he looked around the room. Next to him, the owner of the small apartment was still fast asleep, face buried into the pillow and topless. Connor sighed and tried to slip out of the bed without waking them, covered himself with a sheet as he looked for his clothes. It was a ritual he'd gotten used to over the past couple months – pick someone up, go to their place, have drunken relations, sneak out in the morning, and repeat. No one ever had to know, and that was the beauty of it.
As Connor pulled on his T-shirt, he looked at the clock. He still had ten minutes to make it to the hospital on time, and he could not afford to be late. He had to make a good first impression today.
Some people thought that having the last name Avery made everything easier for Connor, but that wasn't always the case. Sure, it got him perks sometimes, but it was also a huge pain in the ass. He'd heard the whispers at orientation, about how he was only here because he was Jackson Avery and April Kepner's son. Today, Connor would have to prove them all wrong.
As he walked out the door, he checked his phone. There was another chipper text from his mom, saying she missed him and hoped he'd have a good day today. He typed up a quick, disinterested reply and shoved it back into his pants pocket. He'd found himself drifting from his mother recently, his father too. The sneaking around for secret rendezvouses with strangers didn't really help that. Connor just felt like they didn't even know each other anymore. It was like, he'd spent so much time trying to escape who he was that somewhere along the lines he'd escaped them too.
With a sigh, he pulled out his phone again, hovered over his mother's name on the screen again – he'd changed it from 'Mom' to 'April' months ago, not that he'd ever tell her that – before typing another text. I love you, Mom.
Her reply was almost instantaneous, and he could practically hear her voice in his head while he read it. Aww, honey, I love you too. You're going to do so great today. Connor hated being called honey, but it still managed to bring a smile to his face when she said she loved him.
He just hoped she still would when she found out.
Megan Karev and Bailey Shepherd had never had much in common.
Growing up, Bailey had always been Wyatt's best friend. And so obviously, that meant he was supposed to agree that his sister was the stupidest, most cootie invested girl on the planet. The fact that they were polar opposites didn't help – Bailey was always handsome, even at four years old, pair that with an outgoing and adventurous personality, and he just didn't mix with Megan, who was shy, studious, and always had her nose in a book.
Growing up, Megan had never been one of the popular kids, like Bailey and Wyatt. She'd been lame, a geek, a weirdo. Really, Megan had always set out to be the best student she could be, to make her parents proud, and popularity did not come along with that. As a kid, Alex and Jo had given Megan and her brother everything, they really were the best parents a girl could ask for. And when she'd heard about when they'd had to go through when they were her age – well, Megan knew then she had to make sure their lives were so much better from then on. And Wyatt wasn't exactly stepping up to the plate – yeah he was smart, but he frequently misbehaved, got himself into scrapes and messy situations. That left Megan to be the golden child.
In elementary school, she'd still had a layer of baby fat, and always squinted at everything because they didn't know she needed glasses until the fifth grade. She'd tried to play with other kids at recess but most of them turned their noses up at her, because she was just Wyatt's uncool twin sister. In middle school, that baby fat turned into fifteen extra pounds she couldn't lose, she didn't squint anymore but Bailey now called her four eyes, and the only kids who talked to her by choice were the ones who wanted to cheat on her in math because she was on the honor roll. But this time, Megan wasn't so naïve – she knew people didn't like her, so she just forced a smile and pointed her answers to the open ended problems their way.
She was fifteen years old when she decided to make a drastic change. She cut off her long, brown locks so they stopped just below her chin, and dyed them a bright shade of purple from a kit she bought at the drug store. She also cashed in all of her allowances at Hot Topic to buy a new wardrobe. When her parents first saw her new look she was grounded for a week on the spot. Megan hated making them unhappy, but she just had to do…something.
The summer between eighth grade and freshman year was also the time when Megan dropped twenty pounds. When she showed up in September with colorful hair and a thin figure, everyone whispered – but not because they were mocking her, because they couldn't believe this was the girl they'd once known. While her grades didn't slip and she didn't lose a single IQ point, much to everyone's surprise, Megan herself acted totally different, at least at school anyway, showing her classmates a new eff it attitude. She acted like she didn't care what people thought, but secretly, she did. So much. That was the problem.
It was October of junior year when Bailey found her. She didn't know why he came into the girls' bathroom – she never asked him, but she figured he must've heard her. Megan still remembered the moment when she'd looked up after being caught by Bailey with her fingers shoved down her throat, her purple hair containing traces of vomit. She'd been expecting him to walk away, not to care, because again Bailey and her had never gotten along, let alone been friends. But instead, Bailey Shepherd had surprised her by kneeling down and wiping her face off with toilet paper, rubbing circles on her back as she sputtered and coughed. "You don't need any of this," He'd whispered to her, gesturing from the toilet to her combat boots. Then, he got up and left. And that was it.
The next day, Megan dyed her hair back to its original color, returned to wearing jeans and sweaters, threw away her kohl eyeliner and black nail polish. Everyone was relieved when she went back to being just sweet, happy, normal Megan. And Bailey never told anyone what he saw, their relationship never changed. He would still date a slew of girls and go out with Wyatt on the weekends. But Megan couldn't help but notice that his eyes would always ghost over her plate when they found themselves seated at a table together, just to make sure she was eating, and that he would always ask if everything was okay when he saw her go into the bathroom for more than two minutes.
A little over a year later, she left for California to attended UCLA, her top choice. There, she got contacts and a more normal hairstyle, let her nose piercing close up, and found her passion when she got her first taste of what it was like in the medical field. Bailey and Wyatt attended University of Washington together, and sometimes her brother would send her the pictures of them together, playing beer pong and posing with sorority sisters. She would roll her eyes and text back that he should do his homework. And sometimes, in her mind, Megan would wonder about Bailey. Was he really that changed guy she'd caught a glimpse of in the girls' bathroom? Or was that day just a fluke?
One thing was for sure though – Megan never made herself throw up again.
Wyatt Karev was infamous for his sleeping around.
It was a concept that had been introduced to him by Sarah St. Patrick, who took his virginity behind the bleachers during freshman year of high school. The next day, he'd heard that she'd been caught with Freddy Wells. Most guys would've been angry, but not Wyatt. He was fascinated. From Sarah St. Patrick, he learned that he had the good looks, the charm and the popularity necessary to get away with it. Bailey did too, so the two of them used to party together, get wasted, pick up girls, break their hearts. For years, that was just what the two of them did together. But while Bailey had since decided to move on, Wyatt couldn't. Because he didn't just sleep around because he was an asshole. No, it was much more than that.
Wyatt knew about his family history, he had since he was a child. Those stories of his father watching his own dad shoot up on heroin while somewhere in the house his mom screamed that there were people in the walls listening to her, and creepy foster fathers who used to come into his mother's room late at night and force her to pull down her pajama pants and spread her legs. Stories that were only discussed when Alex or Jo was having a practically painful day, when the memories were too much to bear, stories only uttered behind closed doors when they thought he was asleep in some form of freaky pillow talk. But he heard them, and it terrified him because he knew that if people could do those things as terrible as that, people really had to be horrible. Trust issues were practically a birthright in the Karev-Wilson family lineage, and Wyatt definitely had them. He knew he was the only person he could trust. Getting close to people just meant getting hurt. And he'd be damned if anyone hurt him. He didn't want to have to have stories about drug addicted family members or crazy women screaming at voices in her head or creepy men who used to touch him, and he could only guarantee that if he kept his guard up at all times.
When he screwed random girls, the only person getting hurt was them. Going through life perpetually drunk and always partying also got rid of the feelings of inadequacy he had because he wasn't as smart as his sister and he thought his parents deserved a better son, at least while he was doing it. When he was sober, those feelings would come back again along with a throbbing headache, leading to him doing it again. So, when he did things like showing up to new intern day hung-over and having had a ménage a trois with two blondes the night before, no one knew the real reasons why he'd done it.
For most of her life, the only family Sofia Sloan Torres knew was her mother.
Her father had died when she was still small, too young to have many memories of him. She only knew him from stories and photos, from the comments people made when they saw her first last name. As for her mother's ex-wife, she had more memories of Arizona, but it had been years since she'd seen her, so she might as well have been dead too. "We just couldn't make our marriage work," Callie used to always say. "But there are no hard feelings, and Arizona is just as much your mother as I am. She loves you, Sofia."
Sofia wasn't stupid though, she knew what Arizona did. She heard the stories people told. She knew that Arizona had cheated on her mother, and even though they tried to make things work they couldn't, so Arizona ran off with a resident. She used to call sometimes, tell Sofia how much she missed her, and send her Christmas and birthday presents that were signed with both her and her girlfriend's names. It hadn't been perfect, but at least they talked. Until Sofia screwed up.
"I don't want to talk to you anymore!" She'd screamed at Arizona over the phone one day, after receiving another five dollar birthday card signed "From Mama and Leah." She was twelve then, and knew about what Arizona had done to Callie. Being young and foolish, she'd thought she'd be happier with Arizona out of her life. She thought that it was better this way.
"Oh, Sofia." Arizona had began, sounding hurt. "Honey, we can talk about this..."
"Do not call me honey!" She'd shouted back. "You left me! You aren't my mom and I don't want to ever hear from you again! Don't call me, don't send me stupid birthday cards, just get out of my life!"
On the other line, it was silent for a long time. "...I'm sorry," Arizona said. It sounded like she was crying. And then the line went dead. Arizona never called again, never sent anymore gifts, never tried to reconnect with Sofia. A few months after the incident, Sofia tried to call her, to apologize for her rash behavior, only to find that she'd changed her number.
She may have said get out, but she never thought Arizona would actually listen.
Callie was a great mom. She always had been. And Sofia knew it was hard to do the job for not only two, but three parents. She really loved her mami, as she affectionately called her, they were super close and Callie was Sofia's best friend (not counting Zola, of course). But it was still hard for Sofia. Her dad was dead. Her second mom had left her. People used to say that she had daddy issues, but it was worse than that. Sofia had daddy and mommy issues.
People thought the reason Sofia slept around was because she was like Mark. And she let them think that, but that wasn't the case. Truth was, Sofia was lonely. So everywhere she went, she tried to find a man to fill the void that had been left by her father's death and Arizona's leaving. A radiologist who had her father's eyes. An anesthesiologist who had Arizona's smile. She took them all to bed, and she didn't care what people had to say about it, or what excuses they made for her.
Because for that one moment, while a man with Mark's eyes or Arizona's smile was looking at her like she was the most beautiful girl in the world, alone was the last thing she was.
Tuck Jones watched from afar as Zola Shepherd stared at her clipboard. He admired the way she furrowed her brow in concentration as she read the names of her interns, how a few strings of her dark hair had fallen from her ponytail and curled around her face, the impatient, steady tapping of her foot which sounded like music to his ears.
It was odd to think that just six months ago they'd been friends. Great friends, in fact. They'd gotten along well ever since Zola had been assigned to his service while she was an intern. From day one, she'd been the person he relied on the most, and not just for surgeries. While they'd had a great professional relationship, they'd had a good personal one too. They'd always made sure the other one wasn't in over their head, looked out for the each other's wellbeing, celebrated successful surgeries with a few drinks at Joe's afterwards.
But six months ago the little world they'd been living in had come crashing down. Tuck had known better. He knew Zola shouldn't have been in that OR, it wasn't appropriate given the close relationship she'd had with the patient. He shouldn't have let her been there when he flatlined. He should've had someone take her out of the room, so she didn't have to see...
And what he'd did next had arguably been the most inappropriate behavior of all. Because when she'd ran out of the room sobbing, when she'd needed her friend to comfort her and tell her it would all be okay, he'd done something absolutely crazy that caused her to be unable to look at him now.
Tuck sighed to himself and continued to watch Zola. He just needed to talk to her. He knew he'd regret it forever if he didn't. The attending general surgeon took a deep breath and then walked over to the resident in three big strides, so she didn't have time to see him and walk away. Tuck smiled uneasily. "Hey, Shep."
Zola looked up at him, startled. He hadn't called her Shep in six months. Hell, he hadn't called her anything in six months because she wasn't talking to him. The resident's body suddenly tensed up, her foot stilled and her breathing momentarily stopped. "...Tuck," She finally whispered, so low he was surprised he could hear it.
"I'm so sorry, Zola." He blurted out. "For everything. I'm sorry I let you into that OR, I'm sorry for what I did, I'm sorry..." Tuck gulped and shook his head. I'm sorry we couldn't save him.
"Tuck," Zola repeated, like it was the only word she knew. The way she was looking at him right now, those big brown eyes staring at him so sadly, made him feel sick to his stomach. "Tuck, I..."
They were interrupted when the stream of interns emerged from the locker room. Some were happily chatting away while others looked terrified. A pretty brunette appeared by their side, and soon a reluctant looking Bailey Shepherd followed. "Nice to see you again, Dr. Shepherd," The brunette said to Zola now, causing her resident to wrinkle her brow in confusion.
"Zola," Bailey said. "You remember Megan. Megan, you remember Zola."
Realization dawned on Zola's face now. "Megan Karev!" She said, reaching out to hug her. "Wow, you look so different! Last thing I heard you were in California!"
"LA, yeah." Megan said, nodding. "It was amazing, but Seattle will always be my home."
"Megan is on your service," Bailey interjected. For some reason, Tuck thought he looked like he was itching to get out of there. Maybe he was hoping no one would have to find out Zola and he were related? "I, however, am on Sofia's. Where is she?"
As if on cue, the orthopedic resident walked over to them, standing directly between Tuck and Zola. "Well, well, seems like I'm going to be the boss of you, Little Shepherd."
Bailey opened his mouth to retort, but that was the moment Connor approached Zola. "Dr. Avery reporting for duty. It's a pleasure to see you again, Dr. Shepherd. I look forward to working with you."
"Connor!" Megan said excitedly. It took the other intern a second to recognize her.
"Megan?" He said, in disbelief, and when she nodded he did not hesitate to pull her in for a bone-crushing hug. While Wyatt's best friend had been Bailey, Megan's had been Connor - there were times when he'd been the only friend she had. "Oh my God, it's so good to see you again! When we talked on the phone you didn't mention how utterly amazing you looked! I love what you did to your hair!"
Megan smiled and pulled away from the hug. "Thanks. I actually did nothing to it - but I guess that's kind of the point."
"Are you two done with your little love fest?" Lydia asked as she walked over, increasing the size of their group again - Tuck really wanted to tell them all to go away, but he knew he couldn't. It was clear to everyone that Lydia was in a foul mood the second they saw her, however it was rare for her to ever be in an extremely good mood anyway. "Dr. Sloan Torres, you and your interns are with me in The Pit today."
Tuck cleared his throat and tried to sound professional. "Umm, Dr. Shepherd, you and your interns can be on my service." When Zola gave him a look, he quickly added. "Uh, if that's okay with you."
Lydia resisted rolling her eyes. "If everyone's here, Dr. Sloan Torres, can we just get going?"
"Actually," Sofia responded. "I'm still waiting on one intern."
"Who?"
"Dr. Karev."
Lydia cast a look at Megan. "Girl Spawn is already here, Dr. Sloan Torres." She said, using the nickname Cristina had given Megan when she'd been born. Since Cristina had always called Alex 'Evil Spawn', that left Megan and Wyatt as 'Girl Spawn' and 'Boy Spawn', since they were his kids.
"No, Dr. Wyatt Karev." Sofia corrected. "Megan is on Zola's service."
"And, with all due respect Dr. Hunt," Megan interjected. "Since we are in a work environment I'd prefer if you referred to me as doctor, kept it professional."
"Fine," Lydia snapped. "Dr. Girl Spawn. Where is Dr. Boy Spawn today?"
"He's in the ER, Dr. Hunt." Bailey answered for her, while Megan made a small, disgusted sound.
"Is he?" Lydia said, eyeing him quizzically. "Well, Mini McDreamy, why do I have a feeling Dr. Boy Spawn isn't there to get ahead on seeing patients?"
Bailey rolled his eyes when she used Cristina's nickname for him too. "No, ma'am, he's not."
"Great, just great." Lydia said sarcastically. "Can we just get going?" Sofia nodded and followed, while Bailey sighed and then did too.
Tuck looked to Megan and Connor, wishing they would leave too, so he could be alone with Zola. But of course, they didn't move.
Zola turned to him now, and there was a coldness, a hardness in her eye that made him realize he wasn't forgiven. "Well, Dr. Jones," She said. "Fill us in on the patient."
Wyatt stirred and covered his eyes as the curtain around his bed was thrown open, arousing him from his nap and practically blinding him with light. "Go away, Megs," He snapped without looking at who it was. "I've already been scolded enough by my sister for one day."
"Yes, but you haven't been scolded by me." Lydia Hunt's voice snapped, causing Wyatt to suddenly become much more alert.
The intern sat up in bed, his eyes now wide open as he looked at the very angry cardio surgeon before him. "Lydia," He said, trying to be charismatic. "Hey, nice to see you again."
Lydia was not amused. "Don't try that Boy Spawn charm on me." She said. "And it's Dr. Hunt."
"So you can call me Boy Spawn but I can't call you Lydia?"
"Yes."
Wyatt fidgeted, and looked down at his feet. When he turned to her again, Lydia was still glaring at him. "I can't say I'm shocked," She said. "I've always known you were immature and unprofessional. You've always cared more about booze and joints than hard work -"
"Hey now, I don't do drugs, at least not anymore -"
Lydia held up a finger. "Don't interrupt me!" She snapped, which succeeded in silencing him. "Though, while you are immature and unprofessional, I thought you might actually show up to the first day of your internship ready to complete some mediocre work. But I guess I was wrong."
"I am ready to work, Dr. Hunt," Wyatt quickly assured her, even though he had the worst headache of his life at the moment, and wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep.
"Good," Lydia said, before tossing a binder in his direction. It hit Wyatt in the leg before he managed to grab it. "Because you're on scut."
There was a loud cry from the patient, followed by a crunch, and then a snap. Bailey watched in awe as Sofia set a man's broken arm like a pro. "Wow," He said as he admired her handiwork. "That was amazing. How'd you do it so quickly?"
Sofia shrugged, like it was no big deal, and took her clipboard back from Bailey as they went on to the next patient. "All in a day's work."
Bailey paused, before deciding to be bold: "Hey, do you mind if I try the next one?" In response, Sofia gave him a look, then dug around in her pocket. She pressed a ten dollar bill into Bailey's hand, causing him to look at her in confusion. "Why are you giving me this?"
"So you can get me a vanilla latte," Sofia answered. "And I mean from a real coffee shop, not the crap they serve around here." When Bailey only gawked at her, she clapped her hands. "Go on, make it snappy."
"But Dr. Sloan Torres," Bailey said. "I'm an intern. I'm here to learn."
"Yes, you are." Sofia said, switching her clipboard to her other arm. "And you just learned that I do my best work with caffeine coursing through my veins. So go get me my freaking latte."
Zola silently followed Tuck to his patient's room, trying to keep her eyes focused on the back of his head as he walked. She just needed to be as professional as possible today, and then she'd be done.
When they walked inside, an older man was lying in bed, reading a magazine. He smiled when he saw them. "Dr. Jones! My man!"
Tuck grinned and accepted his high-five. "Nice to see you again, Mr. Winslow." He said. "This is Dr. Shepherd and her interns, Dr. Karev and Dr. Avery. They'll be assisting me on your surgery this afternoon."
"What procedure?" Connor asked.
Tuck looked over at Zola, not at Connor, when he answered the question, delivering it like how he'd usually give a patient a fatal diagnosis. "...Hepatectomy," He said.
Zola didn't realize that she'd emitted an audible gasp until everyone was staring at her. "Is everything okay, Dr. Shepherd?" Megan asked, looking concerned. Zola didn't reply - she just looked at Tuck and then walked out of the room.
"Hey!" Zola heard Tuck calling out to her but she didn't stop. "Zola, stop!" He finally caught up to her and grabbed her arm, Zola tried to keep moving but Tuck pulled her back and spun her around, grabbing her firmly with both hands. "What is your problem?"
"What is my problem?!" Zola repeated in disbelief. "What is your problem, Tuck? I haven't done a hepatectomy, not in six months, not since..." She shook her head. "Not since he died, Tuck. During the hepatectomy we were performing together."
"Mr. Winslow isn't going to die, Zola." Tuck said.
"How can you make a promise like that?" Zola snapped at him, furious. "You said he was going to make it too, but he didn't! You let me into that OR, I watched as he..." She trailed off, the memory coming to mind. She remembered it all too clear. One minute, everything had been fine. He'd been responding well. And the next...
The next the heart rate monitor was going off. Someone was screaming code blue. He flatlined. And that was when she ran out of the room, so she didn't have to hear the nurse call it. Time of death, 22:40.
"I know I did," Tuck said. "It was a mistake, and I'm sorry. It was..." He trailed off, his own memory coming to mind. Zola sobbing in the scrub room, ripping her mask off her face and weeping. Him running in, trying to calm her down, holding her in his arms. His repeated line of 'It's going to be okay,' until finally he turned her face and caught her lips with his, silencing her wails but ruining their friendship in the process. Tuck shook his head now, remembering the shocked look his display of affection had been met with. "Zola, I..."
The woman cut him off, held up her hand in a 'stop' position. "You're right," She said. "It was all a mistake." She started off again, only this time, Tuck didn't follow.
Zola spotted her mother easily once she walked into the hospital cafeteria. Meredith was sitting at one of the tables, engaged in a conversation with Cristina and Alex, so she didn't see Zola at first. It had been a long time since mother and daughter had last seen each other in person. Meredith had left Seattle for a while after the funeral – to travel around the country and do work for the board of directors, she'd said, but Zola knew that was really the last thing on her mind when she decided to take the trip. Zola knew her mother was trying to put on a brave face, but she was really just as distraught as she was.
"Zola, honey," Meredith said, pulling her in for a hug. It felt good for Zola to be back in her mother's arms, and in that moment she wished she could turn back time, be a small little girl in her mother's lap again, completely safe from adult problems and worries.
"It's good to see you, Mom." Zola replied, sitting down next to her. She smiled at her honorary aunt and uncle across the table, and the three exchanged assorted hellos. It wasn't as warm a welcome as she gave her mom, but only because they'd just seen each other a few days before. While Meredith had been gone, Zola had found herself needing someone to talk to, and Cristina and Alex were surprisingly good listeners. Honestly, they were probably closer than ever before.
"So," Meredith said to her. "What's going on with the residents these days?"
Zola shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing much. Teaching some interns. I'm scrubbing in with Tuck this afternoon."
Meredith's face brightened. "Oh! How is Tuck lately? I haven't seen him in forever!"
Zola tried to hide how uncomfortable the question made her, but Cristina and Alex immediately noticed, sharing a discreet look between them. When Zola had confided in them, she hadn't just talked about her feelings about the death and what came after – she'd talked about Tuck too, and how he'd kissed her after the surgery. "More importantly," Cristina interjected. "What surgery is it?"
Meredith rolled her eyes, thinking this was typical Cristina behavior – all work. Normally, Zola would've mouthed 'thank you' to her, if the surgery itself didn't have painful memories for her too. "…Hepatectomy." She mumbled, so low she was surprised any of them heard it.
The expressions on the faces of the three attendings faltered. "Oh, honey." Meredith said, shaking her head. She reached out to touch Zola's hand and the younger woman grabbed hers, squeezing it tightly.
"I miss him, Mom." She said, swallowing so that the cry threatening to escape her throat stayed down. While she loved her mom and had confided in Cristina and Alex a lot in the past six months, she didn't want any of them to see her cry. Even at the funeral she hadn't shed a tear in their presence – just staring blankly at the casket as it was lowered into the ground, allowing the three of them to unravel instead.
"I miss him too," Meredith told her, pulling her daughter into her side. Cristina and Alex both looked down at the table, probably feeling like they were intruding on a private mother-daughter moment. They sat like that in silence for a minute, and so everyone was secretly glad when Bailey showed up.
"Hey," He said, looking from one of them to the other. "Why the long faces?"
Zola sat up straight, while Meredith smiled. "We're fine." She said. "Come on, give your mother a kiss, she hasn't seen you in months."
Bailey rolled his eyes but obliged, letting their mother plant a kiss to his cheek. While he acted like he was too cool for public displays of affection with his mother, Bailey had always been a mama's boy. (He'd actually put off going to kindergarten for a year because he didn't want to leave her - that was why he was in an intern class with Wyatt, Megan and Connor, even though they were all a year younger than him.)
"What are you doing today, Mini McDreamy?" Cristina asked him, after Bailey had said hello to her and Alex.
Bailey sighed, having heard that nickname numerous other times today. "Well, right now Sofia is making me get her coffee." He answered. "And I've had to hear that nickname from your daughter several times today, Aunt Cristina."
Cristina grinned, her pride evident. "That's my girl."
Bailey was about to ask if he could sit down and join them – he'd make Sofia wait for her coffee, that would teach her to use him like a personal assistant – when all of a sudden one of the last people he wanted to see walked over. "Hey, princess." He heard Alex say, and when he turned around sure enough Megan was hugging him, greeting her father with a quick kiss on the cheek. Great, just great.
Megan looked up, and her eyes locked with his as she said: "Hi everybody."
Thankfully, her attention was quickly driven elsewhere, so they didn't have to stare at each other too long. "Oh God, this cannot be Girl Spawn." Cristina said, giving Megan the onceover. "You look so…adult. Which is shocking considering your father is Alex."
Alex rolled his eyes at her. "Bite me, Yang." Cristina smiled smugly in return. The years had not changed their relationship in the slightest. They still teased each other like they were interns.
"You do look very grown up," Meredith said, in all seriousness. "How was Los Angeles?"
"Thanks," Megan replied. "And California was great. Much sunnier than Seattle, that's for sure. UCLA was amazing."
"Alex said you already had an idea in mind about your specialty," Meredith continued.
Megan nodded. "OB/GYN and neonatal surgery,"
Cristina smirked. "I bet you're thrilled about that, Evil Spawn. Your daughter – future member of the gynie squad." Alex threw a water bottle cap at her in response.
Meredith turned towards Megan and ignored them, having gotten used to the antics of her two best friends a long time ago. "What made you chose that path?"
Megan shrugged. "It just interests me. Plus, I had a great mentor."
"Oh," Meredith said, nodding. "Who?"
"Oh, it's a funny story, when we met she told me she knew Dad," Megan replied. "Her name's Addison Montgomery,"
At this, Meredith made a surprised expression, while Alex choked on whatever he was drinking and Cristina threw her head back in uncontrollable laughter. Megan looked from one of them to the other, obviously confused.
"Oh, they knew each other alright," Cristina said, once she'd gotten a hold of herself. "Right, Evil Spawn?" She gyrated her hips at him, causing Alex to look down in humiliation and Megan to cringe.
"Okay, that's disgusting." She said, shaking her head. "I mean, seriously Dad? You and Addison?"
"Addison is just the tip of the iceberg," Cristina continued. "There was Lucy from OB, Jane Doe slash Ava slash Rebecca, syph nurse," She said, ticking them off on her fingers. "There was…"
"Okay, that's enough!" Alex said, cutting her off and standing up abruptly. "I have that kid with the heart condition I need you to check out, let's go." Cristina smirked, but stood up. Alex quickly grabbed her by the arm and dragged her off towards the peds ward before she could say anything else about his former conquests.
Megan sighed and rolled her eyes, sitting down in the seat Alex had vacated. Zola turned to look at Bailey, gesturing for him to take Cristina's spot. "Bailey, why don't you sit down?"
Megan looked at him expectantly, and Bailey gulped, turning his head so he didn't have to look in her eyes. Because whenever he did, he saw how she'd looked at him almost ten years ago, when he'd caught her making herself throw up. And when he thought about that day, he always wondered if he was one of the things that made her do that to herself. After all, he'd never been very nice to her.
Bailey shook his head. "No thanks." He said. "I have to give this coffee to Sofia."
"Some other time, then." Meredith said, and Bailey nodded.
"Yeah," He said, before turning around and heading out of the cafeteria. Once he'd reached the doorway, he turned around, casting one more look over his shoulder, only to find that Megan had already turned away.
Connor peeked his head into the ER and looked around. He spotted Wyatt easily – he was leaning up against the nurses' station, a phone to his ear and looking annoyed. Connor took a deep breath and walked over. "Oh!" He said. "Hey Wyatt!"
Wyatt looked up now, his expression not changing at all when he saw him. "Connor right?"
Connor knew he should be annoyed that after knowing each other their entire lives Wyatt still acted like he didn't remember his name – or maybe he actually didn't – but he just smiled and nodded. "Yeah."
Wyatt put down the phone on the counter. "Lydia has me on scut," He explained. "I've been on hold with UNOS for the past twenty minutes." He turned back around to face Connor. "So, what's up? Are you looking for April or something?"
Somewhere in the conversation, Connor had zoned out, and he didn't realize he'd been staring until Wyatt gave him a 'well?' look. Connor shook his head. "Oh, yeah. Sure."
Wyatt nodded towards the opposite direction. "Last I saw she was over there showing someone how to do proper sutures."
Connor smiled. "Thanks." He said, and he quickly turned around and headed off – in the wrong direction if he was actually looking for April, it turned out – when Wyatt turned back around, making it clear he was done with this conversation. He walked across the ER, and peered back around to catch one last glimpse of Wyatt as he headed out.
Connor sighed, and pressed himself up against a wall where no one could see him, his hands on his chest, as if by doing so he could still the rapid beating of his heart.
"Here," Sofia looked up as Bailey appeared by her side, offering her a cup of coffee with a flourish. "One vanilla latte. Can I try to set an arm now?"
Sofia looked at him skeptically and took the cup. She took a sip, and Bailey watched as she swallowed it, thoughtful. "This is cold." She proclaimed, handing it back to him. "And please, you're not fooling me – I know this is from the hospital cafeteria. Try again." She turned back around, muttering an apology to her patient, while Bailey groaned.
"Please, Sofia!" Bailey said. "I –"
Sofia cut him off with a glare. "If I can't trust you to get me a coffee, I can't trust you with a patient." She snapped. "Now, try again."
Bailey sighed, and walked out again in defeat, just as Zola was walking in. "Hi," She said, but Bailey shook his head, murmuring 'whatever' as he stormed out of the room.
Zola looked to Sofia, who had finished with this patient and was heading onto the next. Zola followed. "What was that about?" She asked.
Sofia groaned and didn't answer the question. "Ugh," She said, stopping at the nurses' station. "I am having a long, long day. I need some stress relief." She picked up her tablet from where it had been charging and flipped through her contacts. "Who should it be today – Cameron the nurse from peds, or Leo the OB resident?"
"Eww," Zola said. "I am not helping you pick your booty call. That's disgusting."
Sofia shrugged, and put her tablet down. "To each their own," She said. "So, what's going on in your life?"
Zola opened her mouth to fill Sofia in, but the frantic beeping of her pager cut her off. It was Tuck. "I have to go," She told Sofia with a sigh.
"Bye," Sofia said, waving to Zola as she started off. When she was gone, Sofia looked down and scrolled through her contacts again, and her finger hovered over a name. "Hmm," She said to herself, before typing up a text. Meet me in the on call room in 15? XOXO.
Zola found Tuck waiting for her in the general surgery wing. "I got your page." She said. "What is it, Tuck?"
"First, I…" The attending began. "I wanted to say I was sorry, for what happened after the surgery. And second…second, I think that if you're not emotionally able to handle this case, it would be in Mr. Winslow's best interest that you don't scrub in."
Zola gawked at him, unsure of what to say. "Are you asking me to give up this case?"
"Zola," Tuck said. "I think you are more than capable to do this procedure. You are a great surgeon. But I don't think you're ready to handle a case like this. It hits too close to home for you."
"It hits close to home for you too!"
"Yes, but not like it does for you!"
An uncomfortable silence settled between them. "Look," Tuck said slowly. "You didn't waste any time, after the funeral. You got right back into that OR, put on a smile, said everything was fine. I cared about him, I did, but he wasn't a father to me, like he was to you. But Zola, you didn't even cry. I think you need time to process your loss."
Zola felt the lump rise in her throat again, so she just shook her head, knowing that if she spoke she would be unable to control her emotions. "I'm fine." She managed to choke out, a lie she had told many times before, and she looked down, so Tuck didn't see her blink the tears away.
One of Tuck's electronic devices beeped and he picked it up, reading the message on the screen. He sighed loudly and typed up a reply. "I have to go," He told Zola. "And you should too. Zola, go home."
He turned and walked away before she could protest, not feeling fine either.
The door to the scrub room burst open, and Lydia looked up from removing her surgical mask as Wyatt walked in. "Dr. Hunt!" He said excitedly.
"What is it, Dr. Boy Spawn?" Lydia asked, uninterested. "Do you have my lab results?"
"Well, no –"
"I told you not to come back without those results – "
"This is better!" Wyatt said and Lydia looked at him, waiting. "I was on the phone with UNOS, and your patient – Mr. Holmes, the one in heart failure – he's at the top of the donor list. They're getting him a heart, today."
Lydia actually smiled. "That's great news, Dr. Boy Spawn." She said, removing her surgical gown.
"So?" Wyatt asked. "Do I get to go to Portland Gen with you to pick it up?"
Now, Lydia laughed, like he'd just told her the funniest joke in the world. "No."
Wyatt gave her a look. "Why not? I've been on the phone with UNOS for the past hour."
"You're an intern, Dr. Karev." Lydia said, walking towards him now that she was done scrubbing out. "I need you to stay here and wait for my lab results."
"But that's not fair!" Wyatt retorted, feeling suddenly like a little kid again who'd been deprived of his favorite toy at recess.
"I never said it was," Lydia said. "Now, can you page a resident for me?"
Wyatt scowled. "You're such a – "
"Yeah," Lydia cut him off smugly, as she brushed past him and out the door. "I know."
Sometimes, I don't know why I decided to be a surgeon.
"Here," Bailey sighed, as he presented Sofia with another coffee cup. "Vanilla latte from Seattle's Best Coffee, with Splenda not sugar, skim milk, and no whipped cream."
Sofia smiled as she took it from him. "Much better," She declared, after taking a sip. "So, Dr. Shepherd, now that you have proved yourself worthy, would you like to scrub in on a surgery tomorrow morning?"
Bailey looked at her skeptically. "Really?"
Sofia nodded. "Yes. But you're observing, not touching. And the surgery starts promptly at eight so you better not be late."
Bailey grinned. "That's fine. Thank you, Dr. Sloan Torres."
Sofia checked her phone. "I have to go, I asked someone to meet me in a couple minutes. But I'll see you tomorrow."
"Yeah, see you tomorrow." Bailey said with a nod. The ortho resident took another sip of her coffee and smiled, pleased, before walking off.
"Hey," When Bailey turned around, he spotted Megan walking towards him.
"…Headed out?" He asked. She'd changed out of her scrubs, and was now wearing jeans and a red sweater.
"Yeah, I'm going to the bar." She said, reaching him now. "You wanna come?"
Bailey shrugged. "I have a surgery with Dr. Sloan Torres in the morning."
"That's too bad," Megan said. "I hate drinking alone."
"Trust me," Bailey said, shaking his head. "You won't be drinking alone for long."
Megan blushed and looked down, laughing. "Thank you." She said.
"It's no problem," Bailey replied. He looked at her for a moment, and Megan looked back at him, cheeks flushed. "Well," He finally said. "See you tomorrow?"
Megan nodded. "Yeah, see you tomorrow." She started to walk off, and the automatic doors opened for her.
"Wait!" Bailey found himself calling out. Megan turned around and looked at him again, waiting. "Well…one drink couldn't hurt."
A smile spread across Megan's face. "I'll wait for you in the parking lot?"
Bailey nodded. "Sounds good."
It can be really hard sometimes.
There are days where your best efforts go unappreciated, and you want nothing more than to just collapse into a ball on the floor and break out in tears.
Connor walked by the locker room, but he froze and then took two steps back to the doorway. He peered in, and sure enough, Wyatt was standing by his locker, taking off his scrub top and putting his T-shirt back on. Connor tried to hide the grin that threatened to show itself. "Hey, Wyatt."
Wyatt turned around, and Connor noticed he had a defeated expression on his face. "Connor. Hi."
He was pretty sure it was the first time he hadn't pretended to not know his name. Connor walked into the locker room, it was just the two of them in there now. "What's going on?" He asked. "I thought Lydia had that heart transplant right now."
"She does," Wyatt said. "But I'm not scrubbing in, so…"
Connor gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry," He sat down on the bench next to Wyatt, less than a hand span of space between them. Wyatt looked down, feeling dejected. "But if I was Lydia Hunt," Connor whispered to him now. "I would've chosen you."
It's not easy. It never is.
Zola didn't go home. Well, at least she didn't go to her current home. She went to her first home, the house she grew up in. She still had the key.
She didn't expect anyone to be home when she opened the door and stepped inside, but there was a light on in the kitchen. "Hey, Mer I'm – " Derek Shepherd turned when he heard the door open, and he stopped when he saw who it was. "Zola. Hi."
Zola smiled and walked inside, dropping her bag and sitting at the kitchen table like she'd done many times before. "Hi Dad," She said. "How was your fishing trip?"
"Good," He said. "The fish were really biting. I'm actually frying up some now. Want any?"
Zola shook her head. "No thanks." She said.
"You look sad, Zo." Derek said, turning back to the pan he had on the stove briefly before looking at her again. "Do you want to talk about it?"
At first, Zola was going to say 'no', but then she realized that perhaps it would be best if she filled her father in on what was going on. "Tuck and I were going to do a hepatectomy together,"
"Oh, Zo – "
"That's not the worst part," Zola interjected, and Derek looked at her, waiting for more. "…Tuck told me he didn't want me in on the surgery."
"And you listened?" Derek replied, giving her a look.
"What do you mean?" Zola asked.
"Well, you're here, aren't you?" Derek explained. "You're just going to give up and let Tuck win? That doesn't sound like you, Zo."
Zola looked down at the table. She knew what she had to do. The girl stood up from her seat and headed towards the door, picking her bag up again. She turned back to look at Derek, who was watching her proudly. "When have the Shepherds ever been ones to quit?"
But, I don't think that's the hardest part.
Bailey led Megan into Emerald City Bar. "Two beers!" He called out to the bartender. The man behind the bar nodded and got them two glasses, placing them down on the counter just as they sat down. "Thanks."
Bailey picked up his glass, and Megan followed suit. "To us," He said, and they clinked their drinks together, each taking a sip.
"Bailey?" Megan said, after she'd swallowed.
Bailey gulped down another sip of his drink. "Yeah, Megan?"
Megan looked down at her beer for a moment, hesitating. "Are we friends?" She asked, meeting Bailey's eyes.
Bailey looked at her, and she stared back at him, anticipating a response. He glanced down at his drink, ran his finger along the rim. Maybe it was time to stop letting the mistakes he made in the past affect what he did in the present. "Yeah. Of course we're friends."
I think the hardest part is…
Zola walked down the hallway of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, and she spotted a nurse going through some paperwork before going home for the night. "Hey," She called out. "Have you seen Dr. Jones?"
The nurse nodded and pointed down the hall. "He went into the on call room, resting up before his hepatectomy tonight probably."
"Thanks," Zola said, before starting off down the hallway towards the on call room. She knocked gently and then pushed open the door. She was met with a loud gasp from somewhere in the room, and there was an audible thump. Zola flicked the lights on, and then she wished she hadn't, when she saw the sight before her.
Tuck had fallen off the bed, and was now lying on the ground, face down and butt naked. On the bed, Sofia was now sitting upright, wearing nothing but a sheet and looking shocked to see Zola. "Zola!" She cried. "What are you doing here?"
Tuck looked up now, horror spreading across his face. Zola glared at him, her jaw dropped in surprise. "Zola…" He said, but she turned on her heel and stormed out before he could finish. "Zola, wait!"
She stopped and angrily turned around, to find Tuck chasing after her in nothing but a sheet. "Zola, you don't understand!" He said. "Sofia and I have been sleeping together for months, it doesn't mean anything! You were avoiding me and she offered, so I…"
There were so many things she wanted to say – You pursued me. It just wasn't a good time. This is confusing for me. I kissed you back, remember? - but she couldn't get herself to speak any of them. "Our surgery is in twenty minutes," Zola said. "I am scrubbing in, and we're going to save this man's life, and there is nothing you can do to stop me. Be ready." She didn't wait for Tuck to respond, she just turned on her heel and walked away.
…acting like you're okay when you're not. That's the hardest part.
"So," Zola said. "You're probably wondering what my point is. Trust me, I'm getting there." She shifted in her spot on the ground, crossing her legs. "We saved that patient's life. And it was amazing. That's why I'm a surgeon. I have the potential to save so many people, so many lives…"
Zola looked down, wrung out her hands. "If only I could've saved you." She smiled sadly, and for the first time, when the tears pricked her eyes she let them fall. She placed the flowers she had picked up on her way here from the hospital in front of the tombstone, arranged them so they didn't cover up the words etched in the marble. "I wish you were here."
Richard Webber
"The Chief"
1954 – 2040
A/N (again): Hope you enjoyed this! This is AU after the mid-season finale, in case you didn't notice. I kept Cristina around because I love Crowen, and I wrote out Arizona because I've never been a fan of her. I had plans for her to have left with Leah before she went back to Callie in canon, so I kept it mostly that way, but edited a few things. (I hope this doesn't turn any of you off from this story, because trust me, while I don't like Arizona I would give her and Sofia some more closure at some point.) And yes, Richard is dead (RIP), not only to add drama but because (assuming Richard and James Pickens Jr are the same age), he would be 86 by 2040. It pains me to kill him off, but it had to be done.
Review if you are interested in more! Thanks!