Thanks to everyone who has left me a kind word we're here for another go at it. I've been watching season 2 Greys this weekend, and it inspired a huge rewrite of this chapter. I don't know anything about medicine 😂, so this was a fun challenge. Thanks again for reading. -HB

Dr. Helm and Dr. DeLuca are working with Dr. Hunt in the pit. It's been a very busy six days since the aquarium trip, and Andrew has barely seen Meredith. Yes, they've visited a supply closet or two and shared coffee breaks when possible, but otherwise their schedules had not allowed any alone time.

Owen is wheeled into the E.R. riding on a stretcher being pushed by paramedics. He met the ambulance in the bay and has already taken over CPR attempts on an unresponsive little boy. DeLuca and Helm rush over.

"Marco Ramirez, age 7, collapsed in P.E. class. Parents have been contacted and are otw. No known previous conditions..." one of the paramedics continues providing the doctors all the relevant details. All three doctors move in sync working together to try revive Marco. Owen calls for Dr. Altman and Dr. Karev to be paged.

"We've got a low pulse," Owen announces. "Let's intubate," he reaches out for a tube. "We need a chest ultrasound," Owen barks.

"Pulse Ox 88," Helm reports.

Alex and Teddy show up and are immediately apprised of the situation. Teddy takes over and begins an ultrasound. She pauses, looks closer at the monitor, and says, "He has a ventricular septal defect. We need to get him to the OR immediately."

Dr. Hunt knows Marco is in good hands and goes to see to other patients.

Karev is on the other side of Marco's stretcher he yells out, "He's got fluid in his left lung. Before he goes anywhere we need to drain. Alex begins the thoracentesis, and says, "I'm going to scrub in with you, Dr. Altman, if that's ok." Teddy nods. Then he turns to Helm, "If necessary bump a scheduled non emergency surgery." He sends her off to get them an OR.

"You coming, DeLuca?" Dr. Karev asks while draining the fluid from the lung into his needle. Tubing gets stitched to Marco's chest.

"Yes sir," Andrew replies. They get confirmation OR 3 is being prepped, and they all begin to head in that direction.

Andrew is on his way to OR 3 scrub room when Meredith runs into him on her way out of OR 1.

"Hey," she says while pulling off her scrub hat. Andrew thinks Meredith is perhaps her sexist right after a surgery. It's because he knows she's given everything to her patient, and she does it so humbly. To her it's just her job to strive to be great. That's what she thinks every surgeon's job is. She doesn't understand that while every surgeon might strive to be great she actually is great, and to be close to a woman so great and so beautiful it causes Andrew to stop right in front of her in awe. She smiles at him.

"I needed to see your face before this surgery and the OR gods have blessed me," Andrew says grinning.

"What are you scrubbing in on?" Meredith asks.

"A ventricular septal defect. We're going to sew in a patch. Dacron. Karev and Altman are waiting for me."

"That's exciting," Meredith replies.

Andrew looks towards his OR, and back at Meredith. He looks a little scared, and that takes Meredith by surprise. He's usually so confident.

"You're going to do great," Meredith says sounding sure. She grabs his hand.

Andrew looks down at their hands and says, "He's seven. He's got a hole in his heart, previously undetected, his parents are on their way, and it's up to me and a couple other mere mortals to try to fix it," Andrew drops Meredith's hand and starts to pace. "Do you ever think about that?"

"You're not mere mortals. You're surgeons," Meredith replies. She sticks an arm out to stop him pacing, and continues, "You are a very very good surgeon. Go be awesome." It's exactly what he needed to hear.

"I really want to break a rule and kiss you right now," Andrew says while walking up to her. They're face to face and he's standing close. She doesn't stop him from trying to kiss her, but he doesn't lean in. "I'm not going to break our rule, but I could be talked into coming by to deliver on those kisses later tonight." If his confidence was low a minute ago it's definitely fully recovered. Meredith smiles, turns, and starts to walk away.

"I'm going to go be awesome now," he shouts after her watching her walk away.

"I'll be at my house waiting for you when you're done," Meredith says not looking back.

Andrew smiles as he turns and heads into the scrub room.

Alex is scrubbed and heading into the OR when he says, "Hurry up, DeLuca, Altman is ready to cut."

Andrew starts the water and reaches for the soap.

Marco is on the bypass machine. Teddy cuts into his chest, and the process of getting his heart repaired begins. A little while later the rib spreader is in, and Dr. Altman is leading them in the search for hole. The doctors get the news that Marco's parents are here, but it's going to be awhile before they have news for them.

It's a little over an hour into the surgery, and Teddy finds the hole in Marco's heart. She describes to Andrew what she needs as he begins the preparation of the material that will be used to patch the defect in Marco's septum.

"Do you know why we're using a patch instead of catheterization, Dr. DeLuca?" Teddy asks.

"Yes, the Dacron patch procedure can prevent problems later in life, including heart failure and high blood pressure in the lung arteries," Andrew answers.

"Correct, and for a kid so young we want to prevent the need for future surgeries if we can," Teddy adds.

Andrew brings a tray over with the patch Dr. Altman needs.

"Whoa. I need suction," Teddy says. " I've got some bleeding."

"Pulse ox 84," Andrew reports.

"What's going on," Karev asks.

"He may have another defect," Teddy responds. All the doctors get even more serious, and the race is on to find it and figure this out.

"Damn it!" Teddy continues. "We need his scans!"

They page Helm to bring the scans to the OR.

Teddy tells Andrew to forget about the patch and come over to give her a hand. She needs to feel with her hands and try to find this hole. They can't wait for the scans, because Marco will bleed out. All three surgeons are working with extreme focus.

"I think I've found something," Teddy says excitedly.

Teddy, Alex, and Andrew walk up to Mr. and Mrs. Ramirez in the lobby. Marco's parents stand up looking worried but hopeful as all three surgeons approach. Marco's parents have been waiting nervously through the entire surgery for word from the doctors.

Teddy is the one to tell them the news.

"I don't understand," Mrs. Ramirez screams out. Her seven year old bundle of pure energy was lying still on a table 100 feet away. Her world was spinning. She's just been told her son has died on the OR table.

"We did everything we could do. Marco had a heart valve defect that previously went undetected. He collapsed in his P.E. class. He was unresponsive when he arrived, but we took life saving measures..." Andrew's words trail off.

"Oso," Mrs. Ramirez says, "Everyone calls him Oso. He arrived 10 pounds into this world, and he has been our little Oso ever since."

"We are so sorry for your loss," Dr. Karev says wishing the news was different. All three doctors leave the parents after providing all the necessary information. A nurse steps in after getting some instructions from Dr. Altman.

Alex turns to Andrew, "You okay, Dr. DeLuca?"

Andrew nods. "I feel like Thanos snapped his fingers, and now I'm disintegrating and blowing away in the wind, but that's how I feel every time I have to look a parent in the eye and tell them their child is dead, so I'm doing as well as I can be."

Alex thinks he gets the reference, but he hasn't been to the movies in a long time. Dr. Karev turns and starts to walk away. He stops after a few steps and turns back to look at Andrew, "You did a good job tonight, Dr. DeLuca. We'll come back tomorrow, we'll work just as hard to save the next little Oso, and that little guy or girl is going to give us a win." Andrew nods and they walk off in different directions to end their work day.

Andrew reaches for his cell phone as soon as he arrives at his cubby. Jo is sitting on a bench about to head home herself.

"Sorry about your patient, Andrew," Jo squeezes his arm as she walks by towards the door. Andrew says thanks, and they exchange goodbyes.

Andrew checks his texts. There are three from Meredith since he last checked his phone a few hours ago.

The first text is from 40 mins ago: "Bailey wants to know when you're going to be here, because the Toy Story 4 trailer is out, and apparently he promised to wait and watch it with you." Andrew's mood is lifted thinking about how he and Bailey had talked about the movie during lunch after their aquarium trip last week.

A text from 35 mins ago: "He also needs you to know it's super hard to wait for you, but he is."

A text from 34 mins ago: "When did you and my five year old become best friends? I'm not at all jealous."

Andrew laughs and sits down on the bench to type out a reply. His text originally says, "He knows he has a friend in me." He goes to hit send, but stops. He shakes his head laughing at his own corny joke. He edits the message to say, " The bromance is real. Tell my bestie I'll be there soon. I'm leaving in just a few minutes."

All the kids sit next to Andrew on the couch. His laptop is in his lap and they're all watching the movie trailer. Meredith comes to join them. The kids are excited by the end, and Bailey asks Andrew if they can go see it.

Andrew looks over at Meredith. "Can we?" He asks. All their faces look over at her wide eyed.

"Yes, we can go." Meredith says laughing. Andrew and the kids celebrate. Meredith is smiling as she heads back to check on dinner.

A couple hours later they're sitting alone in the kitchen and Meredith's chair is facing Andrew's. Her legs are across his, and her feet are in his lap. He's rubbing her legs mindlessly and staring off in the direction of the fridge. The kids have been tucked in for twenty minutes. They've both had a glass of wine.

"I want to go into Peds," Andrew says matter of factly never stopping his massaging and never looking over at her.

A few seconds pass. He doesn't say anything else.

'I think that's perfect for you," Meredith says.

He finally looks at her. "I decided earlier tonight. This may sound a little cheesy, but being with you and spending time with you and the kids… It has unlocked a different level of passion in me. Bailey is my guy, Zola is so much like you it's ridiculous, and Elle Belle is already one of the coolest people I know. I understand a little teeny bit more intensely what a parent is losing when I have to give them bad news. I want to save as many little Osos as I can."

Meredith is pleasantly surprised by him again. He consistently surprises her in endearing ways, and it's annoying how much it makes her feel. The way he lets her in and doesn't hold back anything is why she's in this situation. She really used to believe she was the one in control here. She brings her feet down, and stands up. She walks over to him and raises her right leg over his lap. She straddles him with her arms wrapped loosely around his neck. Looking in his eyes she runs her hand through his hair. Andrew's hands slip into the back pockets of her jeans.

Meredith kisses him for what feels like just a few seconds but has probably been minutes. She stops, and their eyes open. She smiles at him, and then she stands up. Andrew doesn't like her breaking their connection. She turns and grabs their wine glasses from the table. She walks them over to the sink.

Andrew walks up behind her, lifts the hair away from her neck, and kisses her below her ear.

Meredith turns around. Andrew barely moves back, they're facing each other, and they're looking into each other's eyes. Meredith whispers something. Andrew isn't sure he's heard her right. He continues to look at her, and a smile creeps up on his face.

"Did you, Dr. Meredith Grey, just tell me that you love me?" Andrew's tone is playful, and Meredith can't take it. She starts to blush, and goes to turn away. He stops her, and he brushes away the hair falling into her face. He told her the same thing three days ago in a supply closet. She didn't return the sentiment at the time, but she was gentle about it. He hadn't wanted to push her, but it had been a rough three days for him honestly. He had not told her he loved her just to hear it back. He had said it because he felt it, and he wanted her to know. He loved the kids too, but he was being cautious and careful with their little hearts. Things were moving quickly it felt like, but their love story had actually unfolded over months and months of Meredith's walls slowly coming down. All these things were not lost on Meredith. She saw him. She understood he was good. She knows that even with his flaws this man was still "salt of the earth" good. Sometimes it overwhelmed her, and all these things had overcome her in this moment. He steps closer. Her arms wrap around his neck again. This time she says it more confidently. "I love you. I have tried to resist every step of the way, and yet here I am. You're stuck with me now." She laughs and asks, "Are you ready for all this?" They come together foreheads touching, and Andrew smiles. He takes her hand, turns around, and leads her towards the couch. He looks back over his shoulder as they walk, he grins, and he says, "Sì, sono pronto."

Meredith smiles. She's ready, too.