My phone rings, jarring me out of sleep. I glance quickly at the clock, it reads a little after six in the morning. 'Who the hell wants me at this hour?' I wonder and reach for the handset.
" 'Lo?" I slur.
"Addie?" A female voice, way too perky for this early.
"Yes?" I'm slowly waking up.
"Addie, it's Savvy," One of my best friends from New York. No wonder she was perky, it must be after nine there. A sudden thought of Derek and Weiss and Savvy and me at Joe's in Seattle swims through my mind.
"Savvy, hi! What's going on?" I sit up, drawing the covers up around me. I attempt to banish my ex-husband from my mind.
"Well, I just wanted to know if you would do me a favor?"
"Ok, I'm not sure what I can do from here, but I'll try." There's a long pause on her end.
"Weiss and I have been chosen to adopt a baby boy, but he isn't due for another couple of weeks." I can't tell if she's giggling or crying. There was a time I could tell without a doubt.
"And?" I'm trying to make sense of what she's saying.
"Addie, I want you to come out here… the baby has a birth defect. The doctor we talked to this morning said it looks like my- myelomen- myelomeningocele," she trips over the word before slowing it down the last time in an attempt to sound the word out. "I'm freaked out, Addie… that's a big word that I don't have any clue what it means for the baby. Weiss and I want you to come and give us a second opinion." I sigh. "Please, Addie… I value your medical opinion above all others."
"Yeah… let me talk to Naomi, I'll ask her for some time off."
"Thank you," Savvy sounds relieved, "The doctors have us very concerned."
"Well, it's a form of spina bifida, and that's somewhat fixable… so even if that's what it is, don't worry." We make small talk for a few minutes, I ask her how she's doing. She tells me that the transition to menopause has been rough on her and Weiss' sex life, but I can hear in her voice how much she's trying. After breast cancer claimed her mother, Savvy had come to me in Seattle to have me remove her breasts as well as her ovaries and uterus.
"Oh, by the way Addie, we're in Princeton… at the Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. The birth mother is from here, and we wanted her to be comfortable and have someplace close by where she could get her checkups." I write down the name of the hospital and the treating physician… a Dr. Berger. We say our goodbyes, and hang up.
I call Naomi, she picks up on the third ring.
"Hey, I need some time off, I have to go back East." I outline what Savvy told me, and to my surprise, Naomi lets me go without an argument. I hang up and call Delta Airlines. Booking myself a round trip flight for four days, I hope that's enough time. Just in case, I purchase ticket insurance.
Finally getting out of bed at six-forty, I start packing a bag. Never having been much of a t-shirt and jeans kind of girl, I pack mostly nice slacks and shirts, but I throw in my Yves-St. Laurent suit and my best pair of heels just in case. At seven twenty, I shower and put my toiletries in a smaller bag and toss them in my suitcase as well. As I zip my bag, I'm actually kind of grateful to be getting away from LA for a few days. Finding a nice pair of black slacks, I pull on a cranberry colored sweater and dig a coat out of the back of my closet. I probably look foolish dressed like this in LA, but I'll fit right in on the coast.
At seven fifty, I walk out the door and catch a cab to the airport. Looking through my sunglasses, I take in early March in Los Angeles. The sky is a clear blue, surprising because it's usually a scummy grey from the smog. Palm trees flash past, and I can see the sun peeking between buildings periodically. In spite of myself I smile. I have my sleeves rolled up, and I feel great, it's just perfect outside, not too hot, and not freezing.
At the airport, I check in and carry my coat to the gate. I thumb through the latest gossip rags and listen to my iPod. My flight gets called, and I spend the rest of the day bouncing across the country. From LA to Denver to Dallas to Atlanta and finally to Trenton. I find myself staring out the window more than reading my book, and thoughts of Weiss and Savvy fill my head. After a few fond memories featuring them, Derek and Mark start creeping into my thoughts. Pretty soon my head is crowded with memories of them, and I actually miss Derek more than I thought I did.
Weiss is waiting for me when I debark, he helps me carry my luggage to the car and drives me to the hospital.
"Where's Savvy," I ask.
"She's staying with Jen, they've admitted her to the hospital to run tests on the baby." We catch up as he drives.
When we get to the hospital, Weiss pulls into a parking garage and together we walk through a biting wind from the north. It whistles through the garage, a lonely haunting sound. We cross the street and enter the front doors of the hospital, and I feel excited. I miss the thrill of being a full-time surgeon. Admittedly, I'm a surgical junkie.
We go straight to the fifth floor and meet the birth mother, Jen, and Savvy. Savvy looks fragile, her skin like paper. Despite her frail appearance, she crushes me with a hug and a school-girl squeal. The four of us talk for a while, until the OB doctor comes in. I introduce myself, and feel a surge of pride when he pales a bit.
"Dr. Montgomery, it's a pleasure to meet you!" I feel like a rock star, it's nice to have my work recognized. In Seattle, no one could see past my marital status… the fact that I was the bitch who was married to McDreamy, and had ruined Meredith's life. God dammit, I'm a continent away, and she's still haunting my every thought. Dr. Berger and I discuss Jen's stats and what I'm looking at when it comes to the baby.
It's not as bad as they first thought, the spina bifida is mild, and can be corrected in only a couple of hours. He talks me through the process we're going to be using, seeming more excited than irked.
"I don't mean to intrude on your OR or patient, I was asked by the adoptive parents… please don't let me overstep my bounds."
"On the contrary, Dr. Montgomery, we're a teaching hospital and I want my students to learn from one of the greatest pre-natal surgeons in the US. Your being here is a fantastic opportunity for my kids." We shake hands.
"Thank you for the opportunity, Dr. Berger."
"Please, call me Ian. Why don't we take a quick tour of the facility and get you some locker space and scrubs. I'd like to have Jen in surgery by two o'clock, if you can be ready by then."
"Absolutely, two sounds fantastic."
We roam the halls and Dr. Berger… Ian… points out the various wings of the hospital, focusing heavily on the surgical wing. The facility is absolutely beautiful, glowing wood paneling, and soft lighting, waterfalls in one lobby, and a state of the art clinic. The Denny Duquette Clinic is better, but this one is still nice. Not everyone gets 8.7 million to spend on their clinic. Especially not all in one lump sum.
When we return to the surgical wing, Ian shows me the locker room and takes off. I stash my bag in an empty locker along with my coat and go in search of Weiss and Savvy.