The Motto

It was one thing to not have any surgeries or procedures to perform and to have nothing pressing on her schedule, but Dr. Miranda Bailey was standing outside of Seattle Grace Hospital and was actively hoping for an ambulance to pull up or future patients to arrive… anything. Inside she was feeling giddy. She thoroughly enjoyed her job and took great honor and pleasure in helping others. But outside, her face was serious; she had a tough reputation to uphold. "Dr. Bailey?" One of her residents, Cristina Yang, asked. Yang was a very talented resident, but her social skills were painfully lacking.

Miranda crossed her arms across her chest. "What is it, Yang?" Miranda asked; her voice chilled much like the Washington air.

"What are we doing?" The girl asked.

Miranda licked her lips. "We're waiting."

"For?" Yang asked. Miranda looked from the eager resident to the other two; quiet and patient.

"A miracle, Yang," Miranda answered. "Someone will come."

The answer didn't satisfy the resident. "So we're standing out here in hopes that someone is severely injured? Wishing and praying that someone is so hurt and so near death that—"

"Yes!" Miranda answered without making eye contact. The other residents snickered.

"You and God are cool with that?" Another one asked with a sly smile. His name was Alex Karev and his cocky attitude and grouchy disposition made others hate him, but it only drew Miranda in. She knew there was more under the surface; plus, he was a hard worker. And that counted for everything. The other resident, Meredith Grey continued to look up and down the driveway in search of an ambulance. She was an undercover feisty doctor and she'd make a great surgeon.

Miranda sighed. "Damn it," she said hanging her head slightly. "I forgot about God." She tried to hide a smile as she ushered them back into the hospital. "All right—let's just go on back inside and wait."

Back inside of the warm hospital, Miranda heard: "Dr. Bailey to the Nurses' Station. Dr. Bailey to the Nurses' Station."

She perked up. Maybe a surgery was on the horizon. She hadn't been so tired of waiting for something to happen in the hospital for a long time. She turned to her residents. "Go and find something to do," she told them before she walked off. As she approached the Nurses' Station, her heart sped up and her mouth went dry. She looked over and saw Dr. Ben Warren leaning over the desk talking to a nurse. Miranda knew the nurse, Jessica Bokhee, known to everyone as Bokhee, the best scrub nurse in the hospital. Miranda tried to slow down her heart and moisten her mouth at the same time. She took a deep breath and swallowed. "Dr. Warren." She walked up to him and put her hands on her hips, pushing her lab coat back a little.

"Dr. Bailey," Ben responded loud enough for anyone within earshot to hear. Then he whispered: "May I tell you that you look very beautiful today?"

Miranda blushed. She still wasn't used to having a boyfriend yet. And definitely not one that worked in such close proximities to her. The last guy she dated, she ended up marrying, her ex-husband, Tucker Jones. They'd been married for more than a decade and, together, they had a child. An amazing and adorable almost four-year old little boy named William George Bailey Jones, affectionately called 'Tuck'. Simply put, he was the light of her life. Being doctor meant that some days would be great and some days would even be good, but there'd be other days that would be bad and sometimes unbearable and she needed something or someone who could brighten her spirits after a loss or a setback. For Miranda, that person used to be Tucker, but she'd grown tired of his condescending attitude towards her and her work. He didn't understand her need to be a great surgeon and why she'd spent so much time in the hospital logging hours in all of the specialties. She just wanted to be the best. He wasn't physically abusive, he wasn't that crazy, but he verbally attacked her motherhood and her being and while it was never okay, she always accepted it, letting it roll off of her back. One day, a patient, Davis, had come in with his wife, Skylar, and she saw the way they interacted and how every time he looked at her, his eyes were filled with love. How she spoke lovingly of him, even when he wasn't around and how they touched, easily and unapologetically. After meeting them and explaining the next steps, Miranda excused herself. And rushed out of the room, nearly knocking someone over, and into a nearby supply closet where she broke down. Every tear made her heart lighter, but every time she tried to leave the closet, more tears would fall. Watching Davis and Skylar made her realize that she and Tucker were no longer meant for each other, they no longer supported each other, no longer had sex. And she was no longer happy. They were no longer happy. Miranda gathered the courage to go and see a lawyer, one that her good friend, Dr. Addison Montgomery, had suggested. The divorce lawyer, Elizabeth Abernathy, was so kind and sat with Miranda as she spilled her guts. Elizabeth sympathized and suggested that Miranda file for divorce. "Sounds like a misunderstanding between you two," Elizabeth had said quietly.

"Yes!" Miranda had screeched through tears. "That's exactly it. We have…we have differing ideas of how our lives are supposed to go. He wants me to cut back my hours, to stay at home with Tuck. Which, of course, I want to do, too, but not because he wants me to, but because I want to! And I'll be able to finally be able to do just that once I become an Attending." Elizabeth had nodded. Miranda thought for a minute. "Also—it wouldn't have been so bad if the bastard wasn't cheating." Miranda had laughed through her tears.

"Yeah, if it wasn't for that little snafu," Elizabeth had said making Miranda laugh a little more.

The tears subsided. "Tucker used to be able make me laugh so easily and so often, but…we don't laugh anymore." Elizabeth gave Miranda a smile, her head cocked to the side. Miranda had sighed deeply. "It's over. I need to move on. Draw up the papers, please."

"Hopefully, he won't contest it," Elizabeth had said as she clicked on her computer.

"Oh, he will," Miranda had scratched her arm and scoffed. "He won't want to work out the damned marriage, but he also won't hesitate to hold up the process." She'd shaken her head.

That had been six months ago. And she and Tucker still hadn't come to a conclusion about their failed marriage. It was so draining. There was a time when she didn't mind going through the back and forth surrounding the divorce, trying to come out smelling rosy. Now that she had a new man in her life, she didn't want to fight; she just wanted to be happy.

Ben touched her shoulder, bringing her back to the present. "Everything good?" He asked sincerely.

Miranda smiled and nodded: "Yeah, I'm good. Just in my own little world."

"I hope I'm in there, too," Ben said.

Miranda's heart fluttered. "Yea-well, um, uh… someone paged me here."

"That was me."

"Well, what do you want?" Miranda asked feigning annoyance. At five feet, she had to physically look up and make eye contact. Her eyes scanned his six-foot frame covered in navy blue scrubs. He was so handsome, his brown eyes were warm and his muscles always made her want to be held by them. She waited for an answer.

"I didn't see your name on the OR board, so I just wanted to be fancy and call you over the entire hospital."

Miranda's eyes widened. "Oh my goodness!" She whisper-yelled. She grabbed Ben's arm and pulling him away from the Nurses' Station. "I am working, Ben Warren."

"I know. I know. I was only kidding. I see you have a gastrectomy that's been pushed until tomorrow." Miranda nodded. "So I was hoping that you wouldn't mind if I observed?"

She was so confused. "Like be the anesthesiologist?"

"Naw," he said with a chuckle. "I want to watch you perform the surgery."

"Oh! Yeah! Sure," she said nodding. "I don't know the exact protocol, but I'm perfectly fine with it. I'll ask the Chief and see if it's possible. I'm hoping that he'll assist me." Miranda made a mental note to ask her mentor, Richard Webber, the Chief of Surgery at Seattle Grace-Mercy West Hospital.

"Cool!" Ben clapped his hands together. Miranda smiled at him before turning to walk away. He touched her elbow gently. "We're still on for tomorrow right?" Miranda's mind scrambled as she struggled to come up with a response. She and Ben had been dating for two months now and everything was going better than she'd ever expected. But she still got nervous before every date. She managed to nod through her nerves. "Can I get a verbal commitment?"

"Tomorrow. Yes. I can't wait," Miranda said. "So…where are we going?"

"Somewhere cool. You can dress casually."

"That's all I'm getting, isn't it?"

"Maybe," Ben said winking.

Miranda scoffed. "Go away!" He smiled and continued on his way. She shook her head as she moved to catch up with her residents. One of them paged her to the ER. She saw several gurneys coming in. Miranda thanked God that her day would finally get put back on track. She jumped in to get her hands dirty.