When Lyla's best friend is admitted to the hospital on Halloween and unable to go trick or treating with the gang, Alex devises a plan to make all of Ava's dreams come true.
Folding the blankets from home on the end of her daughter's hospital bed, Amelia sighed as Ava continued her rant. Her voice had started to crack as she spoke; the slow dissolution of the anger that masked heartache.
"It's not fair," Ava protested. She was doing much better than earlier, the fire in personality being re-lit with her resurgence of energy, but there was still a weakness. A night in the hospital and a bout of tachycardia could wear down most people, but there was something especially susceptible to a five year old that was supposed to be trick or treating. "I don't needa stay here anymore. Gracie and Connor get to go."
"That's because they're going with Lyla. Me and you are going to stay here tonight and watch lots of Halloween movies. And we're going to trick or treating next year."
"But I can go THIS year!"
Lyla sat in the chair beside Ava's bed, all done up in her costume and ready to go. There was a small piece of her that thought that maybe she shouldn't go. Maybe she should stay here with Ava and keep her company since she couldn't go trick or treating tonight after all. She just didn't feel like she should have fun while her best friend couldn't. But the bigger piece of her conscience didn't want to miss out. She had been waiting all day to put on her costume, grab her bag and go beg for candy. She wasn't about to miss out. Still, she wished Ava could come.
"Ava, I can bring you candy okay? I'll get lotsa candy and I bring you some back, kay? Kay?" Lyla tried to offer her friend some degree of comfort but it was virtually useless. She herself knew that having candy brought back and getting it yourself wasn't the same. "I'll bring you some."
"I wanna go with you," Ava mumbled. The offer suddenly made it seem real to her that she wasn't going, and she was truly missing out on getting candy. The thought of Lyla getting bags and bags full made tears line her eyes, so she looked up to the ceiling to keep it together until her best friend left the room.
"Hey," Amelia said, noticing the tears right away. "At least you get to see your favorite doctor today, right?"
"It doesn't matter!" Ava shouted. "It doesn't even matter, cause Dr. Krev is MARRIED! Don't you know that Mommy? He's married and he's never gonna marry me." The harsh truth was too much for Ava, and the tears spilled out.
"Hey Ava," Lyla perked up, seeing this as an opportunity to cheer her friend up. She sprung out of the chair she was sitting in and bounded over to Ava, a smile worn all across her face. She made it over to Ava and began tapping her arm with unwavering excitement. "Ava, guess what? Guess what?!"
"What?" Ava muttered, still looking away.
"My daddy not married, kay?" Lyla shook her head. "Him's not even married no more! Not since him and Mumma gotted dibborce. Him's not! Him's...not single but him's not married! So that's good, huh? That's good right? Right?"
"You're just sayin' that to make me feel better," Ava huffed. "You're not being for serious."
"Uh-huh!" Lyla nodded her head so fast that the bouncy curls Jo put in her hair to go along with her costume flung all over the place. "I'm so for serious! Him's not even married!" she exclaimed. She looked at the expression on Ava's face and decided that honesty was the best policy. "Him like my mommy a lot though so him probably won't marry you but him's really not married so it wouldn't be cheatin'. Right Mrs. Ava's Mommy? It wouldn't be cheatin' cause him's not even married."
"Uh... I'm not sure it works like that, Lyla," Amelia said, her voice full of amusement. "But for now we can just appreciate him as our favorite doctor, right Aves? We don't need to worry about marriage for a long, long time."
"NO," Ava shouted. "I AM thinking! I'm not ever gonna marry anyone else. Dr. Krev is the only person in the whole wide world that I wanna marry and he likes Lyla's mommy and not me and that means I can never marry anyone else. Cause he's the only person I'm ever gonna love, okay? Okay Mommy? If I don't marry Dr. Krev, I not marrying anyone."
"Oookay," Alex's voice entered the room before his body did. He rounded the corner and came into Ava's room, looking down at a paper chart and holding a pen in his right hand. He donned a pair of blue jeans and a brown wool sweater with clean white sneakers. He was dressed to be ready to take Amelia's children and his own trick or treating but he wasn't mentally ready. Mentally, he'd rather do anything than take an eight year old, a six year old, a three year old and a six month old out begging for candy. "Her labs look good so I don't think she's in rejection. Her BP is still a little high though, so I'm gonna watch out for that. If it stabilizes, I'll have her outta here by tomorrow afternoon but I wanna keep her tonight just to be sure."
Amelia nodded as she listened, already expecting that they would be there overnight again. Tomorrow afternoon was great news though.
"Hear that, Ava? Tomorrow afternoon and we might be home."
"Tomorrow afternoon trick or treating is over," Ava said, turning her head away from everyone and crossing her arms over her chest.
"Hey Dr. Ava," Alex sat down on the little girl's bed and wiped the palms of his hands on the knees of his jeans. Gently, he opened up the front of Ava's gown and adjusted the sticky probes that were monitoring her heart. "I know it sucks that you'll be in here for trick or treating," he sighed, empathizing with the little five year old. "But I'll have Lyla bring you half her candy, alright? She'll give you half of whatever loot she gets tonight and I'll bring her back after we're done. But just think...if you went trick or treatin' tonight, you wouldn't even be allowed to eat any of it. Just wait 'til tomorrow when I take this thing outta your arm," he motioned towards the IV he had in her arm that forbade her from eating any artificial sweeteners or foods that weren't heart healthy. "I'll get ya back on burgers and fries by tomorrow, deal?"
"I didn't even get to dress up," Ava huffed, not ready to give up her anger, not even for . "I don't even get to say trick or treat to anyone. I can't eat macaroni and cheese for dinner, I can't even get out of bed! And you aren't even married, and I STILL can't marry you! Everything is wrong, Dr. Krev. Everything is bad, bad, bad. And they gave me the itchy socks this time."
"Well-" Alex started, unsure of how to make sure that Ava's hospital stay wasn't completely bad, bad, bad. There wasn't anything about making a five year old sit in a hospital bed on the night of trick or treating that wasn't bad, bad, bad though. Thankfully, before he had to conjure up a response, Owen appeared in the doorway with Gracie and Connor. Their costumes, wizard vampire and a monkey, and empty bags ready for candy was a fresh sting to Ava's pain.
"They're ready," Owen said, checking his pager. He ignored it and put it back in his pocket, walking into the room towards Ava's bed. He looked between Amelia and Alex when he spoke, ready to accept an answer from either of them. "How is she? She's doing okay?"
"We're hoping to get out of here tomorrow afternoon," Amelia answered.
"Aw man," Owen looked down and finally noticed the sour expression on his daughter's face. "I'm sorry, Ava. I know you were really hoping to be good to go tonight."
"It's not FAIR, Daddy!"
Owen didn't have a response, because it wasn't fair. Nothing about it was fair. Not that she was missing halloween, and not that she had to be in and out of the hospital at all. Not fair was a perfect description. His pager went off again, and he looked apologetically at Amelia for having to leave so quickly, but she gave him a knowing nod to go. He said bye to all three of his kids, feeling horrible for how horrible Ava was feeling, but he had to focus on the lives he was saving. Halloween always had sketchy traumas coming in.
Alex sat at the edge of the bed, still thinking of ways to ensure that Ava's Halloween wasn't a complete drag. Just as he began to feel like his hands were tied, a grin crept across his face as an idea scurried across his brain. He stood up, leaving the chart on the bed and walked over to the chair his daughter was sitting in. Lyla looked up, knowing that her dad was approaching her for a reason.
"Can we go now, Daddy?" she asked.
"In a minute," Alex mumbled and grabbed his daughter's hand. With little struggle from her, he dragged her outside the room and closed the door so their conversation would be private. "Ly, how mad would you be if we didn't go trick or treating outside?"
"W-what? Daddy, no! Why!? That's not fair! I want candy!" Lyla stomped her foot and crossed her arms over her chest. "No! We has to go!"
"Lyla, I'm not saying that we're not going to go. We're just not gonna go outside. You remember last year when Daddy had to work on Halloween? You remember how you and Mommy came here to show me your costume and you asked me why you weren't allowed to trick or treat here like the other kids I work with?" Lyla nodded her head, loosening her arms. "We can go trick or treating here. That way, Ava can go trick or treating with us."
"...Ava goes?"
"Yeah, Ava can go. Only if we go trick or treating here though."
"But I thought you said we not allowed? I wasn't allowed before. How come I can be allowed now?"
"Because I said you're allowed and because Ava's sick," he answered. "Go tell Gracie and Connor to come out here. Tell them we're ready to leave. I'm gonna go grab your brother from Aunt Zona, you guys stay right outside this door."
"Kay," Lyla nodded obediently and happily skipped back into the bedroom. The urge to tell Ava burned her from deep within but something in her daddy's voice sensed that she should make this a surprise. It took everything in her not to run up to the bed and tell Ava that all her dreams were gonna come true after all. "Gwacie and Connuh, come ousside my daddy's ready to go!"
Ava looked up at Lyla's voice and stuck out her bottom lip as she watched Gracie guiltily wave and Connor happily skip holding Gracie's hand.
"Be good guys," Amelia warned. "Lyla, tell your daddy thank you again for me."
"Bye Avie," Gracie waved, and Ava did her best to roll over in her bed with the IV attached to her arm. She didn't even care about the candy. She just didn't want to miss out on the trick or treating part with her siblings and best friend.
Lyla shut the door behind the three of them and stood out in the hallway like her dad told them to. Just as they all filed out the door, Alex emerged from the adjoining conference room with Mickey Mouse on his hip. He carried the baby over to the group of kids that he had been deemed responsible for and for the first time all day, he didn't feel the need to curse or punch things. He was annoyed that he ended up being the only adult available to take four kids out begging for candy and he was annoyed that he had no other choice but to do it. But he wasn't annoyed now. His only concern was making sure that the fifth kid was included in on the fun.
"So guys," he stood in front of them and tried to appear calm when realistically, he had no idea how to handle four kids on his own. He was sure he'd manage though. "How much would you like it if Ava could come trick or treating with us?"
"How?!" Gracie gaped. "I thought she was sick!"
"Well you know, working on the peds floor, I've got connections," he shrugged. "And I bet you guys didn't know that the best trick or treating in Seattle actually happens up here on my floor."
"It's true!" Lyla beamed. "Ev'ry buddy gets real big bags of candy! I seened it myself! With my two own eyes!"
"Ava too?" Connor questioned, his attempt at understanding the conversation. He knew his sister was sick in the hospital and that's why he wasn't trick or treating with his parents, but it sounded like trick or treating could happen right here. It seemed like someone should have thought of that earlier.
"Ava too," Alex nodded.
"But Daddy," Lyla's tone rose with inquisition. She sounded unsettled, as if she had just thought of something that would blow all their plans up. "Ava don't have no costume."
"I already got that covered, Ly."
"Are you gonna go to the store?" Gracie asked.
"Nope," Alex shook his head and scooted the Mickey Mouse up on his hip as he was slipping off.
"Then what could her costume be?" she pressed. She knew Ava didn't have any costume here, because she heard when Ava was rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night last night. So she didn't understand how she could have a costume without going to the store first.
"What's the one thing your sister wants to be more than anything in this world?" Alex replied. "I need you guys to stay right here. Nurse Caroline is gonna keep an eye on you. But don't ruin the surprise for Ava, okay? I need you guys to be extra quiet. I'll be RIGHT back, okay?"
"Kay," Lyla nodded and watched as her father walked away. She wanted to jump up and down and scream. She wanted to go into the room and say, "Ava, guess what?!" but she wouldn't. She'd keep it a surprise somehow. She just hoped that her daddy would be quick because she was literally bursting at the seams. She couldn't wait to tell Ava. "What you think her costume gonna be, Gwacie?"
"I dunno," she answered honestly. "He said what she wants to be more than anything in the whole wide world. I dunno what she wants except once she said when she grows up she wants to be a bagel. But I don't think he can get her a bagel costume here."
"I guess we gotsta see."
"Jo!" Alex huffed as he finally made his way over to the nurses' station that she was leaning up against, mindlessly scrolling through an electronic chart. "Why the hell didn't you answer your pager?! I've been looking for you for like ten minutes!"
"Sorry, I was busy...I had an emergency tibi-" she stopped talking right in the middle of her sentence as soon as she looked up from the chart and saw her Mickey Mouse on Alex's shoulder. "Oh my goodness! Hi!" She wrapped her hands around the baby's torso and pulled him off his dad's hip. "Hi Bubby! You look so cute! Aawwww, look at my little Mickey Mouse!" she kissed him on his lips and held him up, admiring the way Alex had drawn on a nose and whiskers with her eyeliner. "You look sooooo cute, Bubby. Look at you!"
"Look Jo, I don't have time…" Alex took a few breaths. "I need you to do me a favor and not ask questions because I don't have time to explain."
"What do you need then, babe?" She adjusted baby Alex's ears and gave him another kiss on the lips. "Did you make La put on a jacket? It's chilly out there and her costume-"
"Jo, gimme your lab coat," he interrupted.
"My lab coat? Why?"
"I said no questions. I don't have time to explain. Just gimme your coat."
"O-okay," Jo passed the baby back to Alex and shrugged her shoulders out of her white lab coat. "Here."
"Thanks," Alex draped it over his shoulder. "Can you gimme your ID too?"
"Yeah, but I'm not going to. I need my ID. What if I have to go down to the pit?"
"Just gimme your ID Jo, come on. Gimme it."
"I need it though?"
"I already cleared this with Bailey and with Arizona, just gimme your ID."
"I know I said I wouldn't ask questions, but…" she pulled her ID off the bottom of her scrub top, where she always clipped it and handed it to him. "I really need to know why you're doing this."
"...Gimme your ring too."
"My ring?" She looked down at the shiny silver and diamond ring she wore around her finger. She had only just begun wearing it again. She wanted people to know that she and Alex were definitely an item again and she had only just started wearing it again a few weeks ago. She thought they were on good terms. Why would he want it back? "Alex, I...Whatever I did, I'm sorry? But I'm not giving you my ring. It's...my ring? It's our wedding ring."
"I'll give it back. Dammit Jo, just come on. I'm already late."
"Late for what?"
"Give me the damn ring!"
"Okay!" She yanked the ring off her finger and dropped it in the palm of his outstretched hand. "What do you want next? My bra? Panties maybe? Want my ponytail holder?"
"Just shut up," Alex leaned in and pecked her right on her lips. "Love you. See you in a little, when I bring them up here to see you." Without any other words, Alex turned around, adjusted Mickey Mouse on his hip again and dashed off back in the direction he came from.
"...That was weird," Jo whispered to herself.
"It's your turn, Aves," Amelia nudged, looking down at the travel sized checkerboard on the bed between them. "Come on. I think you're going to win."
"I don't wanna play checkers."
"You wanna watch a movie now?"
Ava shook her head, too sad to put up a fight anymore. "Maybe I just wanna take a nap now," she said, lying back down on her pillow and her curling her hands under her face. "Mommy?"
"What is it?" Amelia asked, her voice thick with sympathy. She carefully attempted to move the checkerboard without disrupting their current moves.
"You think I can be normal someday?"
"You are normal, Ava."
"No, I'm not," she shook her head. "My heart is broken. Not everyone's is. But I was born with a broken heart, right?"
"You got a new one," Amelia corrected. "A really, really good one."
"It's not THAT great," Ava raised her eyebrows and motioned to the room around them. If it was as good as everyone seemed to think it was, Ava was confident she'd be trick or treating.
"Ava-"
"I just wanna nap now, kay?" Ava ended the conversation and took a deep, shaky breath to hold herself back from the sobs stuck in her throat. It felt like she had to cry, but nothing was coming out anymore. Ava thought maybe all the parts of her were broken now, like her heart brokenness had spread throughout her whole body. She couldn't cry anymore, but what she felt in place of that was even worse. She tried to close her eyes and sleep, wishing that when she woke up, she'd forget all about what she was missing. Just then, there was a firm knock at her door and seconds later, it opened. Ava opened her eyes and they widened in surprise as she shot back up.
"Dr. Krev! What are you doin' here?"
"You didn't think I was just gonna let you sit here while we had all the fun trick or treating, did you?" Alex walked into the room, grinning from ear to ear. He held open the door and in rushed the other four kids, all smiling and excited to finally let Ava in on their big secret.
"But I'm sick," Ava reminded him. "I gotta stay in the hopsicle."
"Did you know that the best trick or treating in Seattle happens right here on the Peds floor? Not a lot of people know that...but it's just another one of my secrets I'm gonna let you in on."
Ava eyed the wheelchair in front of him, then at all the kids behind him.
"But I don't got no costume," she said, determined to poke every hole in the plan that she could, knowing that eventually it would deflate in front of her. It was just too good to be true.
"You do gots a costume though!" Lyla exclaimed and stepped out from behind the wheelchair. She held out her mommy's lab coat and offered it to Ava. "Looky!"
Alex took the lab coat off of his daughter and handed it straight to Ava. "Guess what your costume is, Dr. Ava?"
"A doctor?" she tried, her eyes wide and glistening at just the idea of dressing up as anything, and not being left behind.
"Do you know what that says though?" He opened up the lab coat and pointed her towards the name written in dark blue cursive letters across the breast. "Guess what that says."
"I dunno," she admitted. "I can't read curtsive."
"That says Dr. Josephine Wilson...know who that is? She's my wife, you know."
A grin so wide it almost broke Ava in half spread across her face. She looked up at Alex like he had put the stars in the sky, because in that very moment to her, he had.
"That means..." Ava spoke through her grin, reaching out for the name tag. "That means we're married?! We get to be married and I get to go trick or treating?! This is the best hopsicle visit in my LIFE! You're not for serious."
"I am for serious," he chuckled as he draped Jo's lab coat over her shoulders and clipped the ID tag onto the breast pocket of the coat. "I even got you this," he pulled Jo's ring out of his pocket and slipped it on the only finger of Ava's that was big enough for it to fit around-her thumb. "So now you're really my wife." He looked up at Amelia and winked. Amelia looked up from Ava's smiling face, now admiring the thumb that wore a ring, and mouthed thank you to Alex over Ava's head. Alex nodded his head.
"So, you ready to go trick or treating, Dr. Wilson?"
Ava nodded enthusiastically. She didn't even care that the wheelchair was for her, and that she'd have to sit in it while everyone else walked. She just happy to be with all of them. She let Alex help her into it, while she still held onto the ring on her thumb.
"You know what, Mommy?" she said before Alex could pull her away. "I think it's okay about having a broken heart. Cause Dr. Krev knows how to fix them."
"Happy Halloween, Dr. Ava," Alex whispered to the little girl as he bent down and lightly brushed his lips across her forehead.
