Chapter 27: Transplanted Family

Watching Miranda Bailey's and Richard Webber's face contort in anger when Mark explained why he had stolen an intern was definitely something. First Bailey was mad because he had taken the liberty of pulling her in the middle of a surgery but once he explained what Burke had been doing she was angry and very vocal about it. Richard on the other hand had revelled in a silent rage. His face set and his eyes glistening with ire. Aelwyne shifted subconsciously without uttering a word, her gaze fixed on her shoes. Suddenly Mark tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention.

"That was something." He said to her as both Bailey and Richard walked away conversing amongst themselves.

"Yeah." Aelwyne said softly.

"Are you ready for what comes next?" Mark asked with a sympathetic smile.

"I will not grovel Mark." Aelwyne tried to joke.

"Come on, Kid." He said turning her around and guiding her away with his hands on her shoulders.

"Where are we going?" Aelwyne asked as he walked her in the direction of the O.R.s.

"To wait outside O.R. 4." Mark said as she halted.

"O.R. 4? But…" She began.

"No buts. It's better she hears it from us than from a nosy nurse." Mark said.

"I can bribe the nurses and she won't have to know." Aelwyne replied with a hopeful smile.

"You do know Satan has her ways right." Mark said, quirking his brow.

"Ruler of all that is Evil, Mark. Get it right." Addison said behind him.

"How did you…?" He said pointing at her and then to the hallway.

"Didn't you just say it? I have my ways. Aelwyne why are you going to bribe nurses?" Addison asked as she looked at her intently.

"I… I umm…" Aelwyne tried but looked at Mark as if to tell him to go ahead and explain.

Addison shifted her gaze away from Aelwyne and to Mark who began to tell her what he had witnessed in the O.R. earlier. Unlike he had with Bailey and Richard he told her absolutely everything that happened. Even comments Burke had made before the intern had actually walked in. He told her of how he acted toward the intern, his words towards her, his words towards Addison, his lack of respect, and the fear he had seemed to instill into the nurses who worked with him.

Aelwyne felt her, she felt the anger pouring out from her every pore. She had kept her eyes on her hands but when she finally dared to lift her gaze back to Addison she did not find what she had expected. She knew the redhead was angry but her face was blank, void from any emotion. She had expected an outburst like Bailey's or maybe a bit worse but that was not exactly what they got. What they got was silence. Richard's silent rage was one thing but Addison's was on a whole other level. Her face remained stoic, her eyes still intense as ever and yet Aelwyne could not read them.

Mark finished talking and Aelwyne grew restless at the silence. She looked up to Addison once more and found green eyes on her so she dropped her gaze yet again. Addison said nothing as she moved towards the intern.

"I… I'm sorry I didn't tell you." Aelwyne said softly, still averting her eyes. "I didn't want you to worry. I didn't want to bother anyone. I thought I could handle it."

"You idiot." Addison said as she took Aelwyne's face in her hands. Gently she lowered the intern's head so that she could place a soft kiss on her forehead.

"You're not mad at me?" Aelwyne asked, her voice quivering.

"I am livid, way beyond mad and angry." Addison replied as Aelwyne began to nervously shift a bit. "But not at you Ael." She added.

"No?" Aelwyne asked, finally allowing herself to look at her.

"I am upset that you felt you had to hide it. Upset that you thought anything to do with you would bother me." Addison explained as she drew her into a hug. "You'll always make me worry, little idiot. But that's because I care for you. Because you mean a lot, like a lot to me."

"I'm sorry." Aelwyne mumbled into her shoulder.

"Don't be sorry. Just promise me something." Addison said as she pulled her away so that she could face her. "Don't hide things from me. Don't go and suffer by yourself. I'm here. Ok?"

"Ok." Aelwyne responded letting a small smile spread across her face.

"Ummm sorry to interrupt your beautiful moment." Mark said sarcastically. "But how about some coffee away from here. You two are blocking the hallway." He pointed behind them to a group of nurses and techs wheeling over a patient.

"Right." Addison chuckled a bit and took hold of Aelwyne's hand as Mark moved to the other side of the intern. All three wandered away from the surgical floor.

It seemed it was break time for everyone in Seattle Grace because everyone was either close to the coffee cart or sitting down in the vicinity. Derek and Meredith had just gotten their coffee. Richard was ordering his coffee as he grabbed a danish. Alex, Izzie and George were bickering in a corner as they sat huddled on the floor. Cristina, Bailey, and Callie were speaking with some new peds blonde attending. All in all it was quite the scene of doctors doing absolutely no doctoring. Aelwyne guessed this would be what tomorrow night would look like with the addition of Mark and maybe the new peds attending, with the way Callie was looking at her.

"You sure you won't grovel kid?" Mark laughed as they made their way to the coffee cart.

"No Dad, I won't grovel." Aelwyne replied accentuating the 'Dad'.

"I told you not to call me that." Mark said flicking her arm.

"Ouch! That hurt." Aelwyne protested.

"Say Dr. Montgomery, are they always fighting?" Cristina asked as she spotted them and began to walk along with them.

"Is that coffee hot, Yang?" Addison said not even bothering to answer the other intern's question.

"Actually, not anymore. Why?" Cristina replied.

"Pity. But it'll do." Addison simply said. Cristina tilted her head as she looked at her a bit confused. The confusion grew into shock when Addison took the cup from her and walked away.

"Red?" Mark called.

"The hell is up with your girlfriend? Did the flames from hell fry her brain?" Cristina asked as she moved to stand next to Aelwyne.

Dread filled Aelwyne's insides as she noticed just who Addison was walking towards. Burke was making his way towards the coffee cart line. Both Richard and Bailey followed his movements until they noticed the walking redhead.

Addison walked with a purpose, cool coffee in her hand. She had expected Mark to say that Burke was just teasing Aelwyne but that was not it. It was more than just teasing, it was bullying, it was full on hostility. He was using his authority and rank to demoralize the intern. Addison cared very little what people thought of her but, much like Aelwyne, if someone, anyone, had bad things to say to her or about her she would bring them down and make them pay. So there she was, walking to Burke with a cup of coffee.

Addison stopped in front of the other attending, who was looking at something on his phone, fully distracted. He did not notice her at all, which suited her quite well.

"Preston." Addison called sweetly with a smile.

As Burke looked up she threw the coffee at his face. Just before his shock wore off she had him doubling over from a kick to the groin. She could hear Mark calling for her and other people's steps getting closer.

"Next time you have something to say about me. Please go ahead and say it to my face. Also you would do well to stay out of her way, she's not alone. She's got too many people in her corner." Addison said calmly. Burke looked up at her from his hunched over position and the air sang as her palm connected with his face. "Better learn your place, Preston Burke. It would be good if you'd learn some manners while you're at it. You homophobic sack of shit."

Mark was on her fast hauling her back along with Derek. Alex and George helped Burke to stand upright. Soon there was a circle between the two attendings. Addison's hand hurt but she had paid no mind to it since soon Aelwyne had taken it into her own. The intern was quiet as everyone started to talk over one another.

"You gotta calm down there, Red." Mark said.

"What just happened? We need popcorn in this place." Cristina asked wide eyed.

"Oh god. Is her hand ok?" Meredith asked.

"Whatever he did, was bad, wasn't it?" Derek asked looking over at Mark, who simply nodded.

"Dude, she got you." Alex chuckled as Burke shrugged off his hand.

"Oh my god, Addison." Callie gasped.

"My attendings are going mad." Richard said, shaking his head even when a smile was crawling on his face.

"Silence!" Miranda Bailey shouted, shutting everyone up. "Thank you." She directed towards Addison. "You…" she said looking at Burke now, "are a sorry excuse for a man. I never would have thought someone like you could have such prejudice against people who are clearly in love." She motioned over to Addison and Aelwyne. "It doesn't matter, you know? People are free to love whoever they choose to love. It's actually not even a choice, it just happens."

"Women were made for men. Even the Bible says it." He replied bitterly.

"Do not try and quote the Bible to justify your disgustingness, you misogynistic bastard. I was taught in church that god said to love one another. He didn't say man love only woman and woman love only man. He said, one another. There's no gender in that. So like Dr. Montgomery said it may be best if you learn your place. Learn to have some respect for people other than yourself. Learn to accept that love knows no bounds. Love has no rules." As Bailey spoke no one moved. No one said a word, they just took in her words, and Richard smiled proudly at his protege.

"You disgust me. All of you." Burke said after a while of silence. The short woman walked towards him looking him up and down.

"Then I think you have a serious problem, little man." Bailey scoffed and began to walk away from him.

As she did so did he. He moved fast towards her, grabbing onto her shoulder and turning her around as his free arm was winding up to strike her. Addison felt as if everything was happening in slow motion. One minute she had Aelwyne holding onto her hand and the next the intern had somehow gotten in between Burke and Bailey, who the intern practically shoved away. Once his fist connected with her face, Aelwyne dropped to the ground clutching at the side of her face as both Mark and Alex jumped Burke.

Addison's shock wore off quickly as she kneeled next to Aelwyne trying to assess the hit. Burke's fist had connected with her right lower cheek, close to her mouth. Meredith and Cristina were next to them in an instant as well. Callie and the new peds attending, Arizona, helped Bailey, who had tripped when Aelwyne pushed against her, back up to her feet. Richard, Derek, and George got in between the fighting men to separate them. Derek had grabbed a hold of Mark, while George had Alex. Impressively George had been strong enough to hold him back. Richard had gotten a hold of a bleeding Burke and swung him around and away from the others quickly.

"Are you psychic or something?" Cristina asked Aelwyne, who was equally stunned and even a bit more freaked out than anyone else.

"Cristina." Meredith called.

"Mer, she moved even before he did. How did you know he was going to hit her?" Cristina asked her friend again.

"I…" Aelwyne tried but the rest died out in her throat.

Addison was the first to notice Aelwyne's erratic breathing and shaking hands. The intern's eyes clouding over as she registered what she had done and what had happened. Addison knew how Aelwyne had known and she knew what was about to happen. She needed to act fast. Aelwyne's eyes were still on Burke as he was being dragged away by Richard.

"Ael. Look at me." Addison spoke gently but Aelwyne just kept on following Burke.

"Eyes on me, Aelwyne." Her breathing was still erratic but her golden eyes slowly moved and settled on hers.

"There we go. Now you need to breathe. In and out." Addison directed gently, making breathing gestures with her shoulders. The intern's breathing started to even out before she spoke.

"H-his… his e-eyes." Aelwyne stuttered out and then began to start breathing more erratically than before. Her cloudy eyes filled with tears.

"No, no, no, no. Shhhh. Breathe. In and out." Addison tried again but it was not working this time around.

"Ok, give me your hand." Addison said.

Aelwyne lifted a shaky hand towards her and she took it slowly and guided it to her chest. Gently she pressed the intern's hand on her skin right over her heart.

"Focus on that beat. Feel that. You're ok. You are fine. I'm here. Everything is ok. Just breathe. Come on, Ael. Breathe." Addison soothed.

Slowly, painfully slow, Aelwyne began to calm down again. The clouds in her eyes dissipated as she began to wipe away her unshed tears. Her hand still resting under Addison's on her chest.

"I'm… I'm ok." Aelwyne said softly looking into Addison's eyes.

"You're ok. You are brave and amazing. And a superhero." Addison replied with a smile and slowly pulled her into a hug. Aelwyne stiffened a bit but she quickly sank into her with a content sigh.

"You idiot." Bailey said teary eyed with a smile. "Thank you."

"It wouldn't do to have our work mom hurt." Aelwyne said softly. The rest of the interns smiled at Bailey.

"Oh hush." Bailey said, looking away from them trying to hide her embarrassment and happiness at the statement.

Derek and George had already let go of Mark and Alex as they made their way back to them. Reluctantly Addison let go of her and looked up at the boys. Aelwyne and her were still on the floor.

"Need a hand there, Red? Kid?" Mark smiled down at them.

"I'm not a kid." Aelwyne mumbled.

"C'mon, Sweetness." Alex said, offering her his hand. Aelwyne smiled and took it as Mark helped Addison up.

"You're gonna need an ice pack." Mark pointed out as he saw her right cheek.

"You are gonna need an ice pack." Aelwyne countered as she took in the places where Burke had actually managed to land hits.

"He's gonna need like five." Mark said pointing to the hallway behind him where Richard had disappeared with Burke, Alex chuckled next to her.

"I guess that's…" Aelwyne began but it was Addison who finished. "That's acceptable."

"I told you all not to make more scenes, didn't I?" Richard said as he walked back towards them. Everyone looked at him and suddenly the place erupted in laughter.

"Are you ok?" He asked Aelwyne.

"I'm ok." She replied with a soft smile.

"Good. Now, everyone back to work if you still want to have the night off tomorrow." He called out and mostly everyone began to shuffle away. Mark, Derek, Meredith, Cristina, Richard, Aelwyne, and Addison remained.

"Wait, umm Aelwyne?" Callie called after her. "Can Ar-Dr. Robbins come? She's new in the city and she has her night off too."

"Dr. Robbins?" Aelwyne asked.

"Yep that's me. Arizona Robbins, peds. I've heard wonders about you." The blonde peds surgeon offered her hand.

"Uh… umm ok. I guess." Aelwyne said a bit apprehensively as she shook her hand.

"Thanks." Arizona smiled widely and left with Callie.

"So what's tomorrow night?" Mark asked.

"Oh umm…" Cristina began but then stayed quiet and looked at Aelwyne.

"It's uh… well, a dinner… umm dinner at Meredith's. Y-you can come if you want." Aelwyne stammered.

"Oh, is it a special occasion? What's the reason for the dinner?" Mark questioned again. Everyone stayed silent waiting for Aelwyne to speak.

"The dinner is for… for my birthday." Aelwyne said slowly.

"Oh a birthday dinner, nice. Happy Birthday kid!" Mark said happily.

"I uh thanks." Aelwyne said awkwardly.

"Well I'll definitely be there with a birthday hat." Mark announced and walked away. "As a present, you're on her service." He called.

"Do-" Aelwyne began to call out but Mark was already out of sight with Derek behind him. Addison squeezed her hand and she looked at her.

"I'm sure he was just joking." She smiled.

"Right." Aelwyne said, returning the smile.

"Well tomorrow should be fun. Addison, please make sure her cheek is ok." Richard said. "Come along Yang. We have an appendix to take care of."

"Right." Cristina said almost in a whine.

"Don't be like that Yang. See this procedure…" Richard kept on talking as they walked away. Cristina threw them a 'please kill me' look over her shoulder as the two of them disappeared behind a corner.

"We are a fully dysfunctional family, aren't we?" Meredith chuckled.

"It's nice for a transplanted one. Don't you think?" Addison added and all three laughed. "Well I'm gonna go check on our patients and then I'm going to work on some of the charts. Do you mind if I go lay down after?" Meredith asked Addison.

"Not at all. Go ahead and don't worry too much with the charts I'll help you later or…" Addison looked at Aelwyne, "since she's on my service she'll help you later."

"Yeah I'll help you after your nap." Aelwyne said with a smile and flinched a little as the muscles in her face had began to grow more tender.

"Yeah let's go get you an ice pack. Come on." Addison said, dragging Aelwyne away to her office, Meredith giggling in the background.

Once they got to the office Addison grabbed an ice pack and gently brought it up to Aelwyne's cheek. Her eyes were on the pack but she could tell Aelwyne was staring at her lips.

"Like what you see?" Addison said with a smirk.

"Always." Aelwyne chuckled and winced.

"Careful… are you really ok?" Addison asked, still a bit worried.

"You're here." Aelwyne said smirking and wincing again.

"Stop flirting. You're hurting yourself." Addison whined.

"Sorry, I'm ok. But that wasn't just flirting. Thank you for helping me calm down. And sorry for being such a mess." Aelwyne said, dropping her gaze.

"Stop it. You're not a mess. You are awesome. Amazing. You're a superhero. Amazing." Addison said with a smile.

"You said that already." Aelwyne said with a small smile.

"Wonderful. Brave. So very beautiful. Breathtaking." The redhead smiled making Aelwyne blush.

"I don't know how beautiful I'll be for the next few days." Aelwyne said as she took over holding the pack.

"Bruises fade. Besides you're still beautiful." Addison said leaning in and gently placing a kiss away from the injured area. She backed away but Aelwyne leaned in for more.

"How about a nap?" Addison chuckled.

"A nap?" Aelwyne almost whined.

"All this beauty needs rest." Addison said as she drew a circle in front of the intern with her hands.

"Only if this beauty," Aelwyne said motioning to herself, "gets to cuddle and nap with this stunning goddess." She said pointing at the redhead.

"Guess I can make an exception." Addison chuckled and winked at her.

Addison laid down with her bringing her onto her chest, her heartbeat lulling the intern into sleep. They slept, content in each other's arms, thankful for each other's warmth.

And then there were 27! No cliffhanger on this one, I'm so nice. So... yes I brought Arizona cuz Mark is here so you know lol the trio needs to be together. Also I love Calzona too. Also the Bible thing is something that has happened to me so many times so I thought why not bring it up. I'm sure many people have had the same experiences or something close with that. I've also had many Christian people come to my aid too. So as much dark as there is in the world, there is also light. On does not exist without the other. Anyway as always thanks for your comments and likes and such. They keep me motivated so do keep going please. Until next time. ;)