A/N: I know that most were disappointed with how the last chapter ended, and believe me, so was I. Kind of ironic, considering the fact that I wrote it. But, the fact is, not everything can be rainbows and butterflies, right? Keep on reading. I'm sure Teddy and Henry will get their happy ending . . . eventually.

"Burton, you're up next."

Henry shot his coach the same look that a teenager gives their parents when they've been told a million times not to do something. He knew he was up next. It was the first game of the season: Red Sox against the Mariners, and the first time Henry had been in Seattle in two years, but that didn't mean that he didn't know what he was doing.

The coach stood with his arms crossed, chewing tobacco that yellowed his teeth, and scrutinized Henry's now standing form. "How old are you, son?"

"Too old for this game, Coach."

"Was it a mistake to hire you, then?"

"I sure as hell hope not."

The coach nodded. "I've seen every one of the games you played back in the day. You were something, Burton. Don't let me down."

"I don't intend to."

It was time for him to step up to the plate. Baseball bat in hand, he pushed off of the fence and stepped out of the shade. The large crowd surrounding the stadium cheered. Maybe it wasn't necessarily for him, but it was for the game.

Henry tapped the end of the bat on the plate, twice. He always did. The pitcher was a young man, not someone he had been up against in his career. The glare the kid was staring him down with said more than if he'd written up a four page soliloquy. "So this is how you wanna play?" Henry asked, more to himself than to anyone else.

The pitcher wound back and threw the ball with power and speed. There was no reason for the kid to dislike Henry, but he clearly did. The message was sent when the ball lead a trail straight toward Henry's head. He ducked, but not quickly enough. The ball caught him where his helmet ended; right below the ear.

x

Seattle Grace-Mercy West Hospital was a whirlwind of activity. The ratings for hospitals across the nation had been posted just the day before, and SGMWH was back up in third place, just beneath Johns Hopkins Hospital and Mayo Clinic. The Chief was happy, the attendings were happy, the residents were happy, the nurses were happy, and the patients were happy. All was well.

All was perfectly well, yet as Teddy Altman scanned the hospital cafeteria, she felt a strange pit of unease in the bottom of her stomach. Sure, her and Andrew had argued that morning, but that was nothing complete unusual. Sure, she had lost a patient that morning whom she had become slightly emotionally attached to, but she was a surgeon: she could handle that. There was something else, something bigger.

Two men were sitting at the table behind Teddy, and when a familiar topic entered their conversation, she couldn't help but to eavesdrop.

"Were you watching the game earlier? That new guy - the one who played a few years back - the Red Sox signed on?" The first voice said, "Something Burton's his name, I think."

"Henry Burton? He's a great player. I missed the game though; Mandy went into labour just as I turned it on."

"He got nailed. The Mariner's pitcher - the young one - threw a fast one right to the head. Caught Burton right beneath his helmet."

Teddy stood, more abruptly than she had intended to, and ventured over to the table where Owen sat with Cristina. "Owen. What field was the Mariner's game against the Red Sox today?"

The redhead looked up, surprise written into his every feature. "I'm . . . not sure the name of the stadium, but it's just about five blocks from here. Why?"

"Thanks. No reason. Just curious." And she turned and exited the cafeteria.

In less than moments, Teddy stood before the operating board. To no surprise, she found that Derek was just leaving OR 2 for OR 1, having wrapped up an acute subdural hematoma. Before he went in for the craniotomy, however, he would have to give the patient's family an update on the surgery. She would be able to catch him in the waiting room, if she was quick.

Derek was talking in his low, just-out-of-surgery tone, to a woman who appeared to be much too young for Henry. Appearances were nothing, though, and Teddy knew this. She didn't want to interrupt, but on the other hand . . . she really did want to interrupt.

She hadn't seen Henry in two years, and when he had walked out, he had been more than an obligation, more than a one night stand. He had been her best friend. She needed to know that he was alright.

Derek turned from the woman, and the look on his face made Teddy's heart jump into her throat. "Dr. Shepherd." She caught him by the arm. "Would you mind giving me a quick update on your last patient?"

He gave her a cynical glare. "Henry Burton? Weren't you married to him a couple years back?"

"I was."

The man nodded, but showed no other expression. "He's in a coma. He sustained a subdural hematoma through blunt head trauma by a hard baseball. The surgery went well, he's stable, but I'm not sure if he'll wake up."

She swallowed the lump that had built in her chest, and squeezed her eyes closed. "Thank you for the update, Dr. Shepherd."

"No problem at all, Dr. Altman."

x

It was nearing nine o'clock when Teddy finally got the chance to drop into Henry's room. He still wasn't awake, and she was slightly thankful for that. Had he been conscious, she wouldn't have known what to say or where to begin. The woman from the waiting room was sitting on a chair next to his bed.

"Hi," Teddy said.

The woman looked startled, her gaze immediately meeting Teddy's eyes. "Hi. Do you mind . . . who are you?"

"My name's Dr. Altman."

"Teddy?" Shock.

She nodded. "Teddy Altman, yes."

"Henry told me so much about you." The girl stood and moved around the room to grasp Teddy's hand. "I'm Melanie. Melanie Burton."

It was the doctor's turn to be shocked. His . . . wife?

She forced a smile. "Nice to meet you."

"You too. Look, I don't want him to wake up alone, but I've been here all day. I really need to run to my hotel and get a few hours sleep and a shower and food." She chuckled. "Would you mind sitting with him? It would mean so much to me."

"I . . . I'd love to."

Melanie gathered her few belongings and left Teddy standing in the middle of the room alone, with Henry.

He'd barely changed over the last two years. A bit more gray was peppered throughout the hair that hadn't been shaved for the operation, but she couldn't identify a single crease showing his age.

It took her a few minutes to settle her nerves, but when she did, Teddy took the seat that Melanie had vacated. She'd never believed that comatose patients were capable of hearing. The concept seemed much too obscure.

With that reassurance in mind, Teddy took a deep breath. "I know you probably can't hear me, but we need to talk. Or . . . I need to talk, I guess. The morning that you found Andrew on my couch, there was nothing left between he and I. He showed up drunk, and when I turned him away, he just came right in and made himself at home. I didn't want him there, I swear to you.

"And then that note you left. I didn't know what to do. I waited for those goddamn divorce papers, and when they came, I sat with them for three hours, debating whether I should sign them or call you. In the end, I thought you were better off without me. Then I found out that I was pregnant, and Jamie really looks nothing like Andrew, but nobody except me seems to see that he's got your eyes. And then I couldn't call, because I married Andrew . . . "

A/N: Please review! And someone needs to get on the writing of some more of these two! :D