AS CRISTINA AND Skylar jogged through the park, forced to do so by Meredith, the brunette stopped to catch her breath. They both woke up that morning to the sound of Meredith calling them. Cristina had stayed the night in Skylar's room and Meredith woke them up by kicking their feet off the bed.

"Oh, you're stupid, oh god..." Cristina muttered as they resumed jogging. "You're a stupid, evil sadist, and I want to kill you."

"I'll help. Hey, go slower. I...can't breathe," Skylar managed to get out through her heavy breaths as she tried to catch up to the two other girls.

"Endorphins are good. Endorphins are mood elevators. This is supposed to make us feel better," Meredith explained, jogging in circles around the two.

"Oh god, do you feel better?" Cristina moaned as they all stopped. Well, Cristina and Skylar did, Meredith kept jogging around them.

"I don't," Skylar groaned as she put her hands on her knees to catch her breath. She read somewhere that that was the best position to be in to catch your breath. She couldn't recount where she read that though. "There's a reason I don't run."

"I'm stupid," Meredith admitted.

"Slutty mistress," Cristina insulted. Like she said when they first met, she gets mean when she's tired.

"Pregnant whore," Meredith returned.

"I'm too tired to glare at you two," Skylar sighed as she collapsed onto her back, laying in the grass and staring up at the slightly cloudy sky of Seattle.

"Sleeping with our bosses was a terrible idea," Cristina said as Meredith finally stopped jogging.

"You know what's ruined for me?" Meredith rhetorically asked. "Ferry boats. I used to love ferry boats and Derek's got a thing for ferry boats. Now, everytime I see a freaking ferry boat—" Meredith vented before Cristina cut her off with her problems.

"You know what's ruined for me?" Cristina retorted, saying her own thing. "Coronary artery bypass grafts. And aortic aneurysms. God, I used to love aortic aneurysms." Both her friends flopped down beside her, looking up at the sky.

"Yeah, that's worse," Skylar shared. "That's, like, a part of our job."

"Have you cried yet?" Meredith questioned. Skylar questioned whether she should tell them about her new relationship. She didn't know if she could call it a relationship. They hadn't officially deemed themselves as boyfriend and girlfriend yet.

"Do you think we'd feel better if we cried? Just like, let it out?" Cristina wondered.

"You would. It helps," Skylar advised. Cristina and Meredith collapsed onto the grass beside her. "I've been seeing George," she blurted out.

"Really?" Meredith basically yelled.

"I've been seeing George. For a couple of weeks." She took her eyes off of the sky and looked at her friends to see their reactions.

"God, you could've waited, Red," Cristina moaned, making Skylar furrow her brows in confusion.

"Ha! You owe me twenty, pay up," Meredith smiled in victory.

"She...what? You guys took bets?" Skylar shook her head with a smile that told them that she thought they were crazy.

"I bet you two would get together next month, Mer thought it would be this month," Cristina explained as she crossed her arms, even more upset now.

"Seriously?" Skylar looked between the two in bewilderment and shock, but the smile on her face told them she was happy. And deep down, they were very happy for her.


"What is she doing?" Cristina asked George, squinting her eyes at the blonde. She was giggling beside Alex, joking around with him.

"I think they're...friends?" He replied, tilting his head. Skylar's eyes widened slightly and she looked at her best friend. She didn't mind that Alex was making friends, she preferred it so he wouldn't stop bugging her all of the time. But she wondered, why Izzie? They were at each other's throats just last week.

"Why?" Cristina questioned.

"I don't know..." George said.

"Guys, please, I know that it's weird to see Alex being a nice person," Skylar began as she tied her shoes. "And he may be a spawn of Satan, but he's honestly not that bad," she spoke, all eyes turning to her. "Me and Alex are kind of friends—I still hate his guts from time to time—but he's honestly a good guy. You just need to give him time."

"I didn't know that you and Alex were friends," George said, a bit jealous.

"Kind of friends," she pointed out, correcting him on what she said.

After a couple of moments of silence, George whispered, "Make the lambs stop screaming." His eyes widened comically causing Skylar to laugh.

As the two left and walked down the hallway, Bailey and Alex walked in front of them. "You guys are wrong about him, alright. Once you get to know him, he's really sweet."

"He's Alex," George deadpanned. His hand twitched a bit, wanting to put it in Skylar's hand, but he knew that she didn't like public displays of affection, especially at work where they were supposed to be professional, so instead he just stuffed it into his white coat.

"Hey, Grey. Izzie was telling me you have tapes of your mom performing surgery. I'd kill to see the Ellis Grey in action," Alex loudly said once he turned around to face them.

"Hey, you know what? Maybe you can come over tonight and we can all watch it together? Right?" Izzie suggested but Meredith, Cristina, and George obviously didn't agree, which was visible by the disbelieving looks on their faces.

"Oh, yeah, if this was hell," Meredith sarcastically answered. Skylar just shrugged her shoulders. She didn't mind if Alex came over to their house.

"Yeah, run away, pig boy," Cristina said in true Cristina fashion.

"Do you have a thing for Alex?" Skylar suddenly questioned the blonde.

"No!" Izzie exclaimed. At her reaction, none of them believed her, so she repeated, "I don't!"

"You have a thing for Alex," Skylar repeated, this time as an affirmation.

"Are we saving lives or having a tea party? Walk faster, people," Bailey reprimanded when she saw that her other five interns weren't behind her like they were supposed to be. They quickly rushed toward their resident, dropping the subject of Izzie and Alex being together. Bailey and her group of interns entered Mr. Gaston's room, where Burke was already waiting for them. The six interns surrounded the patient's bedside, listening to what Cristina was saying.

"Mr. Gaston is scheduled for a resection of non-small cell carcinoma today. He did well overnight, has remained afebrile. He's had a dose of ceftriaxone this morning. His pre-op labs are unremarkable. His chest x-rays, um, are unchanged from the previous."

"I own a couple of dry cleaning stores. Never believed what they said about inhaling the chemicals, but—" the patient answered.

"We're going to do everything we can for you, Mr. Gaston," Burke assured him. "Did Oncology see him yet?" He asked Cristina.

"Uh, they're waiting for the surgical path."

"Thank you, Dr. Yang."

"You're welcome, Dr. Burke."


"I know, I just think you should still tell him about the baby," Meredith told Cristina as they and Skylar followed Dr. Bailey. "He'd at least have the responsibility of having to pay."

"No! You know what, he'll never know. It's over."

"I actually don't disagree with Cristina. I mean, if she's terminating the pregnancy what good would it do? And Burke's not in her life anymore, at least nor romantically," Skylar shared.

"Exactly, Red. After the pregnancy is taken care of, Burke won't even be a blip on my radar, he'll be a smudge."

"Right," Meredith sarcastically answered before Cristina put her hands on the blonde's arms.

"You know, Meredith, leave the sarcasm up to me. Really, it doesn't suit you."

The three girls now walked to their patient's room and Skylar added, "I get it, Cristina. Besides, you don't know his views on abortion. It could do more harm than good if you tell him."

"Thanks, Red. I appreciate it."

After that, they made their way to the next patient's room.

"Kelly Roche, 23 years old, in for a scheduled ETS for treatment of her erythrophobia with hyperpyrexia," Alex presented to Bailey.

"Erythrophobia?" Izzie whispered the question to Cristina, her brows furrowed.

"Blushing," Cristina and Skylar answered in unison, the former searching the meaning in a book and the latter saying it from memory.

"Do you have any questions before the procedure?" Dr. Bailey asked Kelly, flipping through the chart for a moment.

"Oh, no. Dr. Shep...Dr. Shepherd—" Kelly's face started to turn red, and Skylar couldn't help but pity her. Every time she liked someone she would blush and stutter, way more than the average person would. Kelly started to fan herself, trying to cool her face down. Skylar moved to get her a wet cloth and Kelly gave her a thankful look. "Dr. Shepherd explained everything, he was very, uh...helpful. He gave me some literat—" Her blushing got even worse. "Sorry..."

"Don't be. Half the patients that come through here have the hots for Shepherd," Alex butted in, causing Dr. Bailey's head to snap toward him.

"Dr. Karev," she said in a disapproving voice.

"What?" He lightly chuckled, not seeing anything wrong with what he said. "It's true."


"Hey!" Bailey yelled out to her interns. Alex and Izzie were having a conversation about how much of an ass he is. George and Skylar were by the vending machines getting a snack, talking about how Meredith and Cristina now knew about their relationship. The other two girls were somewhere around, but close enough to hear Bailey's orders. "There's a new surgical case coming up from the pit, likely diverticulitis. Let's go!"

When the elevator doors opened, it revealed an older woman screaming and yelling. Her wrists were restrained to the bed but she was sitting upright. "Get your hands off of me! I could report you to the chief and you'd be out on your ass!" They heard the woman yell as they approached her. "You're all amateurs!"

Dr. Bailey took point, and Skylar fell into stride right behind her. She handed Cristina the chart, her eyes dancing over the patient's name for future use. That's when she stumbled in her steps, eyes widening. Her head snapped to the woman screaming in the bed.

"Where is the chief? You're all amateurs!"

Skylar looked at Cristina, who had come to the same conclusion she had just a few moments before. "Complaining of intermittent cramping pain and diarrhea. Also suffers from...uh...Alzheimer's."

"Amateurs!" Her voice was scratchy like she was slightly losing it. Skylar locked eyes with a concerned Cristina. Bailey wasn't even paying attention to her interns who were all starting to slow down.

"Patient's name?" Bailey asked. Cristina stumbled for a minute. Bailey soon grew tired of waiting for an answer. "Yang, patient's name."

"What the hell are you doing here?" The patient yelled and Skylar followed her eyesight to find a shocked and scared Meredith. Everyone else's eyes followed, soon connecting the dots. "Haven't I told you? How many times do I have to tell you not to bother me while I'm at work!" Meredith turned, hurrying to hide behind a wall.

Skylar took a shaky breath, speaking up for Cristina. "The patient's name is Ellis Grey."

George looked at his friend, then to a slightly confused Dr. Bailey. "Meredith's mother."


"Meredith?" Skylar asked, looking over Dr. Bailey and into the locker room. "Are you okay? Do you need anything?" Bailey huffed, shooing her backward. The resident hadn't let any of Meredith's friends see her once the blonde curled up into a ball in the corner of the locker room.

"Here's how this is going to go. Okay, Dr. Karev, stick with the ETS case." She handed him the chart and he started walking down the hall but was stopped by Dr. Bailey's stern tone. "And Alex! Her blushing impulse is not a toy for you to play with or a button for you to push. Understood?" He just nodded before turning the corner.

"Hey, Meredith, you know my great grandmother?" Cristina tried to comfort her. "She died with Alzheimer's." She sounded somewhat sincere so Meredith took that because Cristina rarely sympathized with people.

Bailey gave Cristina a shocked look, Izzie gasping, "Oh my god, why would you say that?"

Skylar looked at Cristina. "That was not helpful, at all." Although she knew Cristina was actually trying really hard.

"Look, I'm just trying to help!" The brunette protected, throwing her hands up. Bailey tore her eyes away from Cristina to look at Izzie and Skylar.

"The Shepherd's need you two up in the NICU."

Izzie looked at her resident with wide eyes. "Wait, both of them? Them, together, and us, with the two married people who hate each other?" Skylar just lightly rolled her eyes, grabbing Izzie's hand and pulling her down the hallway. "Of course, yep, I'm fine with that. Totally fine with that."


In the Natal Intensive Care Unit, Derek was going over the baby's chart with Izzie by his side. Skylar and Addison were watching over the baby who was in a glass encasing.

"Where's the mother?" Derek asked.

"Gone. She stuck around long enough to get the kid strung out and then took off. Nice, huh?" Addison answered. Skylar's eyes softened with compassion as she looked down at the tiny baby. She was lightly playing with her fingers.

"Addison..." Derek scoffed, not knowing where her sympathy was at the moment.

"Derek, I know it's a long shot, I know that," she explained, Skylar's eyes still on the baby.

"You told me you had a newborn with an invasive mass. You failed to mention she was premature, underweight and addicted to narcotics," he argued, handing Skylar the chart. She reluctantly took her hand out of the baby's and grabbed the chart, scanning through it. "There's no way this baby can survive spinal surgery."

"You don't know that..."

"And if she does? She's a mess...Look at her, she's got meningitis, seizures...she's gonna live a short and painful life," Derek evaluated.

"You don't know that," Addison repeated more assertively.

"It is my job to know that."

"You're not God, Derek."

Skylar's eyes widened and she shared a look with Izzie.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry, honey, but you're not, you don't get to decide—" She was immediately cut off by her husband.

"Did you just call me honey? Don't call me honey."

"Fine, you're not, Dr. Shepherd. If the patient has any chance at survival, which I think she does, than you have the responsibility to—"

"Don't talk to me about responsibility," he shot back.

"You took an oath, Derek."

"Oh, and don't you dare talk to me about oaths."

"Derek, I messed up. People mess up."

"You slept with my best friend on my favorite sheets."

"The flannel sheets? You hate the flannel sheets."

Skylar and Izzie's discomfort was growing by the millisecond.

"I love the sheets.

"You like the Italian sheets with the paisley's—"

"Can we just stop talking about the sheets?"

"Fine!"

"Um, I'm sorry. We're just gonna go. We'll go check on the labs," Skylar interrupted, eager to get herself and Izzie out of the room.


"I need you to help me do an exam on Meredith's mom," George said, coming up to her at a nurse's station. She jumped a bit at his voice, him smiling.

She furrowed her brows in confusion. "I thought you were doing that. Why do you need my help?" She asked, passing a chart back to the nurse.

"Yeah—well, no. She thinks I'm her ex-husband Thatcher. Meredith's dad," he said in a low tone like it was some sort of secret.

After a few seconds of staring blankly at his face, Skylar burst out in laughter. "Her dad? You—you look like your best friend's dad?"

"It's not funny!"

"Oh, my god," Skylar breathed out. "Shut up, I'm trying to picture it. This is amazing."

"Skylar."

"I mean, honestly, I—"

"Skylar Amelia Kepner," George glared as she took a deep breath, stifling her laughter. "Help." He gave her his best puppy dog eyes. Skylar softened a bit at them, he was just way too adorable.

"Okay, okay," she chuckled, shaking her head. "I'll examine her, but you're coming with me."

When they entered the room, Ellis was busy rifling through the drawers on her bedside table. "Dr. Grey," George stiffly greeted her.

"Oh, damn it, Thatcher! I'm at work. I've already told you I'm too busy to deal with you now. No more cartoons."

Skylar looked at George with confusion. "She means interruptions," he whispered.

Skylar thought for a moment, allowing a wicked smirk to take over her face. "No more interruptions, Thatcher," she loudly said, lightly hitting him on the chest, causing George to send her a bewildered look. "You heard the doctor."

"Uh, what are you—"

Ignoring him, Skylar made her way over to the surgeon. "Hello, I'm Dr. Kepner," she shook Meredith's mother's hand, trying not to freak out in the presence of one of her idols. "It's an honor to meet you, Dr. Grey. I've always admired your work."

"So you're familiar with the laparoscopic Grey method?" Ellis questioned.

"Oh, definitely. I've studied hours of footage on the operation. You're incredibly talented."

George just watched Skylar in wonder as Ellis relaxed. "Good. Well then, we're wasting time. Let's scrub in."

"Well, Dr. Grey, I'm going to need to do a short exam before you start surgery. New hospital policy, annoying HR rule."

"Ah," she nodded, clearly not in her normal headspace. "Well, make it quick."

As Skylar was listening to her heartbeat, she noticed the glares Ellis was sending George. "Why don't you wait outside, Thatcher? I can take it from here," she said with a large and cheesy smile on her face.

"I hate you," he playfully grumbled, leaving the room as Skylar laughed under her breath.


As Izzie and Skylar came back into the room, Skylar with the baby's chart in hand, they found Dr. Montgomery-Shepherd looking at the baby as she gripped her finger.

"She's got a good grip," Izzie commented.

"Yeah."

"I don't think—the labs don't look good," Skylar handed them to the attending/

"She's got a resistant strain of pneumococcus," Addison read the chart.

"The antibiotics aren't working," Skylar pointed out.

"You might want to get yourself resigned, doctors, I don't think we'll be operating today," the attending recommended in a sad tone.

"So do you think Dr. Shepherd was right?" Izzie asked.

"She's too far gone..." Addison admitted. Skylar's eyes filled with sadness as she looked down at the baby. "She does have a good grip."

"Dr. Shepherd? If you don't mind I'd like to follow the case until the end," Skylar asked and, at the woman's questioning look, she explained, "This little one could use some rooting for her, even if it's only just some company. And I don't like to leave things half finished."

Addison smiled up at the girl, seeing some of herself in her and recognizing her potential. "Sure, Kepner. You can stay."

A while later, the baby was now gripping Skylar's finger as Addison watched her. "Derek was right."

"What about?" The intern questioned.

"You'd be good in peds. You're at the top of your class, so you certainly don't lack the surgical skill, and you definitely have the personality for it. You're assertive when you need to be, you stand up for your patients, and you care for them without letting it affect you." Skylar smiled and Addison curiously eyed her. "You manage to care for a patient and you don't get overly attached. Peds surgeons need to thread a very thin line, trying to stay compassionate while not letting the losses break them. That natural balance you seem to have would make you perfect for it. I think you have a bright future."

Skylar felt as though she'd just been looked right through or even read like an open book and she looked down, slightly flustered. "Thank you, Dr. Shepherd. We always have to try our best to remind ourselves that we can't save every single patient. And I'd like to believe that I can bounce back from losing someone." She looked down at the baby in front of her, her heart heavy.


Dr. Montgomery-Shepherd had basically ordered Skylar to take a break and get something to eat, so instead of doing that, she was walking through the hallways. All she could think about was how much her thought to specialize in peds had grown. She'd always felt a certain pull to it and neuro, but now having heard two attendings she respected advise her to follow it, she knew that it was the right track for her. Maybe it would change along the way, but who knows, she still had a couple of years to figure it out.

However, her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Bailey's slightly panicked voice. She saw her resident walking alongside a gurney that Cristina was laying on. She ran up to them. "Cristina? What happened?" She asked, worry clear in her voice.

"Her pulse is racing, I need her on a monitor to get a BP," Bailey spoke up. "I want her started on a liter of LR. Izzie, run ahead to emergency, let them know we're on our way."

"Dr. Bailey!" Skylar called out and joined the resident, whispering, "She's pregnant. Seven weeks."

As Izzie and Bailey entered the elevator, shock clear on the blonde's face, Bailey changed her plan. "Okay, no, we're going to pre-op instead. Skylar, find Addison Shepherd. And be discreet!" She yelled as the elevator doors closed.

As Skylar ran through the halls, she found Addison walking down the stairs with the Chief and George. "Dr. Shepherd, I'm sorry, we need you. It's Cristina...she collapsed."

"Cristina's collapsed?" George asked, worry in his voice and on his face.

"Why do you need me?" Addison responded, clearly puzzled. At Skylar's expression, she understood. "Oh."

"Cristina's pregnant?" George loudly exclaimed.

"George! Keep it quiet, okay? Please, Dr. Shepherd." The two women quickly left, running to help. George just stared after the two. It always seemed like he was the last to know everything.


They figured out that Cristina was bleeding out from an extrauterine pregnancy, which meant that the cells that were going to grow into a baby latched onto the fallopian tube outside of her uterus. Skylar was more than worried for her person, knowing that even though she planned to end the pregnancy, she wanted to do it on her own terms.

She began to scrub in as Addison began the surgery, but Bailey spotted her through the glass and blocked the door.

"Woah, woah, woah, what do you think you're doing?" The resident frowned.

"Scrubbing in," Skylar stated the obvious.

Bailey shook her head. "No, you're not."

"Bailey, she's my best friend, she's pregnant, and she's undergoing a dangerous surgery. So yes, I am."

"No, you're not," she repeated, sighing. "That is exactly why you're not going to be in her surgery. Under no circumstances are you to enter that O.R. You understand?"

After a short staring competition, Skylar looked back into the O.R, then back to Bailey. She sighed, ripping off her mask and storming out of the scrub room.


Neither Bailey nor Skylar left Cristina's side as they waited for her to wake up after surgery. Skylar held her hand the entire time, stroking her hand lightly ever so often. The resident looked over them like a hawk, refusing to let anything bad happen to the girl.

Once Cristina woke up, she looked at her friend, the feeling of her hand calming her. "Hi, there," she whispered. "You're back."

"What happened?" Cristina asked, her voice raspy and groggy.

"You had an extrauterine pregnancy," Bailey explained and Cristina's eyes lifted off of her friend's face for the first time. "Your left fallopian tube burst. Dr. Shepherd...she did everything she could, but there was too much damage. She couldn't save the tube."

The injured intern just relaxed into her bed more, finding comfort in Skylar watching over her. "Red?"

"Yeah. I'm right here, what do you need?" She whispered.

"Just stay with me?" Cristina asked, her voice cracking.

"Of course. I'm not going anywhere," she whispered as Cristina drifted off to sleep. Bailey watched both girls like a proud mother, appreciating Skylar's help with taking care of the group.


As Skylar approached the group of interns, she found Izzie approaching from the opposite direction.

"Hey, did you get your mom's biopsy results back?" Izzie questioned Meredith and George. George found out that there was a mass on Ellis' liver, and they didn't know if it was going to go away on its own or if it was cancer.

"Not yet," George informed as Skylar sat on the counter next to him. He grabbed her hand which was on her lap, rubbing the back of it with his thumbs. They both smiled at each other.

"Wait, what did I miss?" Izzie questioned, a bit shocked at their interaction.

"We've been seeing each other," Skylar explained as George smiled at her. Izzie didn't know how to feel about that. She felt a little weird and a little sad because if they broke up, it would ruin their friendship and make their entire group more awkward.

"How's Cristina?" Meredith asked her.

"She's going to be in a lot of pain for a few days, but she'll be okay," the redhead explained.

"I'm glad you were there," Meredith said to the blonde.

"Are you?" Izzie asked.

"Yes, I am."

"It's just...it's just that a lot of the time it feels like you, Cristina and Sky are kind of over there and I'm...here," she said, with sadness in her eyes.

At that, Skylar gave her a playful nudge. "You're welcome to join us 'over there' sometimes."

"So, about Alex," Meredith moved on.

"Yeah, I know, I know. You guys hate him. Fine."

George groaned at that, Skylar breathing out a laugh as she spoke up, "I don't hate him! This morning, I even said that we were kind of friends."

"Well, you don't hate everyone, Sky," George argued and she just shrugged in response.

"I just wanna say that I believe you," Meredith intervened. "He's different once you get to know him."

"Here you go," a lab technician approached them, handing Meredith her mom's labs. "Ellis Grey."

Meredith took a couple of moments to read over it. The three friends all looked at her with worried and concerned eyes. Once she accepted it, she handed the papers over to George. "Let her know."

As she walked away, Izzie worriedly asked. "Meredith, are you okay?"

"No. I'm not okay."

Meredith's mother didn't have cancer and the mass was benign, but Meredith still felt bad.


As Skylar walked through the hallways, she saw George laying on a hospital bed with Ellis, the woman nuzzled against him as she slept. Her eyes widened in shock and amusement and George got up from the bed, seeing her through the window.

"Should I be jealous?" Skylar chuckled as the two started to walk down the hallway.

"She thinks I'm her husband..." George reminded her as he intertwined their hands.

"My boyfriend looks like my friend's dad...that is slightly disturbing." They both laughed at the fact.

"Boyfriend?" George questioned as he sat down on a hospital bed that lined the hallway.

Skylar slightly stiffened as she sat down next to him. She wasn't even thinking about that when she said it. "Yeah?" She said but it came out as more of a question. "I mean, if you want to be, you can be. I don't want to rush anything," she slightly rambled.

George just chuckled. They really were similar. They both rambled and stuttered when they were flustered. "Yeah, boyfriend. I like that." They both smiled at each other before leaning in for a kiss. At that moment, both of them had a feeling that they would not break up soon. At least not for a while...


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