"Keps, you okay?"
"What? Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be fine? Everything's fine."
"Overcompensating much?"
"Nathan, I'm fine."
"Kepner, you just got a divorce. You're not fine."
"Then why'd you even ask?" she snaps, feeling a little guilty for raising her voice at him, but mostly just wanting him to drop the hovering he had taken to doing the past week and a half. He's attentive to her, which was something she normally appreciated, but now that she has a secret to keep, it's more nerve-wracking than anything else.
"Because you're my friend," he answers easily, "and because you've been looking a little pale. Are you getting enough sleep? Are you eating okay?"
"Nathan-
"I'm fine," she says with a finality that is noticed and then promptly ignored by her friend.
"You can talk to me, you know? I just want to help."
"I appreciate it, but you can't really help here. You can't magically make me un-divorced, so why don't you just drop it and we both go back to doing our jobs?"
"For now," he concedes, "but if you need anything you let me know, okay?"
"Got it," she says, and Nathan knows that she's just agreeing so that he'll back off, but he knows not push her any further.
He's about to turn around and go about his day, leaving the other doctor alone, when he notices her wobble ever so slightly and then bring her hands to cradle her head.
"Kepner?"
"I'm fine."
"Once again, no you are not. Do you need to sit down?"
"Yeah, that's probably a good idea."
"Alright, I got you."
He slinks an arm around her waist and guides her over to a chair at a nearby nurses' station.
"Dizzy? What's wrong? Talk to me, Keps."
"I just got a little lightheaded for a moment," she says sheepishly, swallowing down the "I'm fine" she feels inclined to add on at the end.
"All better now?"
"All better now," she says truthfully. It had passed as quickly as it came on.
"When did you last have something to eat?"
"About an hour ago."
"Did you sleep last night?"
"Like a baby."
"Then what's going on with you?"
"I'm probably just a little dehydrated. Too much coffee, not enough water," she lies, having cut back her caffeine intake ever since she peed on that god damn stick.
"Kepner, you're a doctor. You know better than that," he scolds, trying to decide if he believes her or not.
"It was an accident. I just got a divorce; I'm stressed out."
"April," he sighs, "you've got to take care of yourself."
"I know. I'm sorry."
He doesn't say anything, just glares at her disapprovingly and thrusts a water bottle towards her.
"Thank you," she says meekly, uncapping the water bottle and taking a couple of sips.
"You're welcome. Someone's gotta look after you," he jokes.
"I am fully capable of looking after myself," she says, an edge to her voice as she clearly enunciates each syllable. She knows that Nathan is just joking, but he's unintentionally hit a nerve. Arizona has been trying to get her to do things her way with an incessant persistence. She knows what she's doing, okay? Well, maybe she doesn't know what she's doing. But she's doing the best she can and it's her body, her baby.
"Hey, I know that. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I'm sorry."
"No, it's okay. That's just… a sensitive topic for me."
"Being able to take care of yourself?"
"We should get back to work."
"Really touchy topic, huh?"
"Nathan-
"I'm sorry. You're having a rough day, I should be nice. Drink some more water and then I'll leave you alone and let you get back to work."
"Did Arizona order you to babysit me?"
"Nope, I'm just a concerned friend. But is Robbins in the business of babysitting you these days?"
"Practically," she moans melodramatically, and Nathan can't help but chuckle.
"Well, I'm sure she's just worried about you, too. We're your friends. We're gonna hover a little bit given the circumstances," he says, before quickly adding on a, "but not because we don't think you can look after yourself. It's because we care about you."
"You're a good friend, Nathan."
"Tell that to Hunt," he quips, because being a smartass is kind of his fatal flaw and he really can't help himself.
He expects a slap on the arm and a rebuke in response to that one, but Kepner just throws her head back in laughs, leaving him to try to squelch the warmth in his stomach from getting her to crack up. God, she really has a beautiful laugh and she doesn't use it enough.
(But it's not like he likes her or anything. He just wants her to be happy. She hasn't gotten to be truly happy in a long time.)
"You two really need to bury whatever the hell that hatchet is."
"It's complicated," he says quietly, and she doesn't press him on it because if anyone can understand a complicated relationship, it's her.
"Have I drunk enough water to satisfy you, Dr. Riggs?"
"Yes, but take the rest of it with you, okay?"
"Okay, dad."
"Dad?" he scoffs, "very funny. Feeling better, are we?"
"Much. Now I've really got to going on this consult."
"Can I walk you there?" he asks before he can stop himself, because she did get a little unsteady on her feet earlier and someone should really keep an eye on her. And definitely not because he has a thing for her.
"You are relentless."
"Please?"
"Fine, but then you've gotta actually leave me alone for the rest of the day."
"Deal. Besides, it sounds like Robbins will take my place in an hour or two anyway."
"Hey!" she yelps, this time taking the opportunity to slap him on the arm.
"I'm just repeating back what you told me!"
She turns to give him a "I'm playfully pretending to mad at you" glare, and there aren't butterflies in his stomach. There definitely aren't.