Since Shonda decided to break our hearts last night, and my editing portfolio is almost finished, expect a lot of updates in the next few days. :)


Minutes after Cadence collapsed, thanks to his ridiculous speeding through the city, Mark burst through the door to the ER of Seattle Grace Hospital, cradling her against his strong chest and whispering soothing words into her ear. He caught Miranda's eye and she rushed over to him, Alex and Izzie on her heels.

"What happened?" Miranda asked, the concern evident in her voice.

"She's gone into preterm labor." Mark said frowning, as he rushed Cadence toward an empty exam room.

"Why are you carrying her?" Miranda asked, confused, jogging to keep up with the pace of his longer legs.

"She's in too much pain to walk…" Mark said grimly.

"I want Addie…" Cadence cried into his chest. Miranda reached out and took her hand, giving it a slight reassuring squeeze.

"Get me magnesium sulfate, a fetal monitor, and page Addison Montgomery, now." Mark ordered the nearest person he saw, who happened to be a nursing student.

The young woman froze in terror at his orders. Mark became frustrated and exploded at her. "Did I stutter? I said now! Stat! GO!" The nurse scurried away.

"Damn it, I know I'm a plastic surgeon, but I still went to medical school!" Mark ranted as he carefully laid Cadence down on the gurney. "I may specialize in tits and ass, but I still know what needs to be done for preterm labor!"

"Dr. Sloan…" Miranda began, placing her hand on Mark's shoulder. "You need to calm down." She dropped her voice to a whisper. "You're going to scare Cadence even more. How far along is she?"

"Twenty-eight weeks. I don't trust that nurse kid…" Mark muttered. "I'm going to look for Addison myself."

"No!" Cadence shrieked, grabbing at Mark's sleeve. "Please don't leave me!"

"Okay… Okay… Shhh…" Mark murmured, and wrapped his arms around Cadence. "It's going to be okay, honey… Addie's going to be here soon and you're going to be okay…"

"I'll go look for Dr. Montgomery." Izzie volunteered. Mark shot her a grateful look and she dashed down the hall.


"Dr. Montgomery!" Izzie called from down the hall, running toward Addison, who was standing at the nurse's station. She paused in front of the older woman and bent over and rested her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.

"Izzie?" Addison turned to her, worried. "What's wrong?"

"It's Cadence." Izzie said breathlessly. "Dr. Sloan just brought her in… She's gone into labor."

Addison swore under her breath. "Why wasn't I paged?"

"You were. Well, you were supposed to be." Izzie explained. "It was a nursing student, and…"

"Fine, never mind that." Addison said, taking off in the direction of the elevator. For a woman in high heels, she took incredibly quick strides to get down the hall. "Where is she?"

"In the E.R." Izzie said. "Is she going to be okay?"

Addison punched the down arrow on the elevator with her index finger. "I'm going to make damn sure of it."


"What happened?" Addison asked as she entered the room and snatched Cadence's chart. Her question was directed at Mark.

"I found her on the floor…" Mark said.

"There was just pain all of the sudden." Cadence said, gripping Mark's hand tightly while Addison did a quick survey of her condition. "And I started having contractions."

"Her BP's up…" Addison noted, sounding like she was talking about any patient, not her sister. A loud beeping noise quickly drew her attention to the fetal monitor.

"Damn it! The baby is in distress… She's getting worse. We don't have time to try to halt this. She needs to come out, now." Addison announced, shoving the chart into Izzie's hands. "Let's get her to the O.R."

"Wait! Addie!" Cadence said, pulling at her sister's hand and tugged her to her side. "If I die…"

"Shut up, Cady." Addison said firmly. "You're not going to die. Do you know how many of these I do in a week? You're not dying on my table."

"But if I do, you have to make sure that Andrea goes to good parents." Cadence pleaded, her eyes filled with tears. "Please!"

"Okay." Addison said quietly. She needed her sister to calm down, so it was better to comply with her wishes than it was to argue with her. "Okay."

"And I love you." Cadence blurted out, allowing the tears to roll down her cheeks.

"I love you too, Cady…" Addison wiped the tears off of her sister's face and kissed her cheek. "Everyone is going to be fine." She looked up at her team. "Let's move it. I want you in there, Izzie."

"Mark, will you come too?" Cadence asked as they rolled her into the hallway.

"Of course, kiddo." Mark said, squeezing her hand.

"What do you think you're doing, Addie?" Derek demanded, blocking the hallway so that Addison and her team couldn't pass.

"I'm taking this patient to the O.R." Addison said simply.

"Your sister?" Derek shook his head. "I don't think so."

"I swear to God, Derek, I will roll this gurney right over you." Addison said, her eyes flashing with fury.

"She's your sister." Derek pointed out needlessly. "You have no business operating on family."

"I'm the best!" Addison exclaimed. "If this was one of your sisters… If this was Kathleen, you'd want the best, wouldn't you?"

Derek paused. She had him there. "Yes, but…"

"But what?" Addison practically shouted. "There is no but here! She's scared! The baby is in distress! She needs the best, and she's getting the best, and that just so happens to be me!"

Derek sighed, realizing that what he was about to allow her to do was ethically questionable. "Fine. You can do the operation. But I'm going with you. I'm scrubbing in."

"The hell you are." Addison snorted and turned away from him, preparing to roll the gurney again. "It's my O.R. and I don't need a babysitter."

"Dr. Montgomery." Derek said sternly. It felt odd on his tongue, calling the woman he was married to for eleven years by her title rather than her name. But, he meant business. And it worked. Addison gave him her full attention.

"WHAT?!" Addison shouted.

Derek sighed again. If she was going to play the "my O.R." card, he was going to have to play a higher card.

"I am your Chief of Surgery, and I am scrubbing in. I don't want you to do this in the first place, but I also know that fighting you is pointless. So I'm scrubbing in." Derek stated.

"Fine!" Addison threw up her hands. "Whatever. Let's get in there. We're wasting precious time here."

Derek nodded and placed his hands on the gurney, helping Addison and her team wheel Cadence down the hall. He was not concerned about Addison's ability to perform under the pressure in the operating room. Nothing could break her impeccable concentration – especially not when she was working on her own sister – but he was concerned about what could come after the surgery. What kind of guilt would she have to live with if she lost one or both of them?


I've already started on the next chapter (actually, bits and pieces of the next 2 chapters), so no worries about my cliffhanger. ;) I will resolve it quickly.