CHRISTMAS IS A holiday that Skylar used to look forward to, but not anymore, even if it meant extra surgeries available thanks to the unusually high rates of accidents that occur around holidays.

Skylar let out a sigh as she stared at the water droplets on her bedroom window. She had a view of the street and the houses surrounding them, it was fairly pretty at night and with snow. Her tiredness made it seem like the lights were twinkling which just added to the beauty of it all. But seeing it rain and snowing at that moment, she slightly pitied Meredith, who was currently outside walking their dog, Doc. Meredith and Izzie had adopted him from the pound after Izzie lost one of the quints. Skylar was still slightly mad at what Izzie had said but decided to hide it whenever she was around the blonde.

Someone knocked on her door which made her turn her head towards it. It was open and George was standing in the doorway. "Hey. What's up?" George had very messy hair and his clothes were bunched up in places, telling Skylar that he just woke up.

"Just wanted to say good morning," he said as he walked in and gave her a sweet kiss that lingered on her lips for a few seconds afterward. "Um, do you know where Meredith is? I wanted to ask her something?"

"She's walking Doc, like she does every morning?" Skylar said with a teasing smirk on her face. George shot her a playful glare and scoffed as he made his way downstairs. Skylar quickly followed him to the living room right when the front door opened, revealing a drenched Meredith and Doc. Skylar's eyes widened when she noticed the enormous Christmas tree that Izzie was decorating.

"Looks like Santa threw up in here," George commented.

"Just...go with it. We're being supportive," Meredith said, understanding that Izzie's coping method was obsessively decorating a tree.

"Oh, hey! What do you think?" Izzie asked, finally noticing them. They all fake-smiled. "Did I go too overboard? Oh, I know, I know sometimes I can go a little overboard." Wanting to spare the blonde's feelings, they all

"No, it's great."

"We love it."

"It's beautiful."

Hearing only positive comments, obviously brought a big smile onto her face. "Oh, yay! I love Christmas."

"We know."

"Clearly," George stated with a forced smile. Izzie turned back around to continue decorating the living room, making the others exchange knowing looks before she turned around again with another smile gracing her lips. They were worried and they silently prayed that she would get over her heartbreak soon since they weren't the biggest fans of the Izzie that obsessively cleaned or decorated.

The hospital was decorated with small Christmas trees here and there, some with ornaments, and some trees were created from blue and white surgical gloves. A pregnant and showing Dr. Bailey was walking down a hallway, well, more like waddling. With every step, she let out a deep breath, something that her interns couldn't help but notice. Her group of troublesome interns were tailing her, only a few feet behind.

"Look at her belly. She's almost as wide as she is tall," George spoke to Skylar which made Izzie grin.

"Why is she waddling? Are her ankles swollen?" Skylar asked.

"What's gonna happen to us when she goes on leave?" Izzie wondered the important question.

"Leave? She's going on leave?" Cristina asked, forgetting about that part of pregnancy.

"What do you think happens when people push babies out of their vaginas?" Meredith said.

"Do you think we're gonna get a new resident?" George wondered before glancing at the rest of the interns. They were all asking questions yet none of them were answering.

Cristina looked shocked and confused, like pregnant women going on leave was something foreign to her. "What?"

"Nah, they'll probably just let us all walk around unattended. To see how much damage we can do," Alex sarcastically replied as they stopped moving. Bailey had stopped at the nurses' station a few feet away from them.

"Yeah, well, you would know," Izzie snapped, which made the other four interns glance at each other. The moment passed quickly though and Izzie rounded to the front, smiling again. "Hey, you guys, we should all get together and get Bailey a Christmas gift for the baby. Or we could, um, organize some sort of secret Santa thing."

Cristina, being the ball of sunshine that she was, said, "Listen, Tiny Tim, you can take your—"

"Sounds great, Izzie," Meredith and George quickly interrupted her.

With a smile on her face, Izzie turned on her heels and headed off to where Bailey was standing. George and Meredith turned to face Cristina, who had a what the hell look on her face. "We're being supportive," Meredith explained. Bailey motioned for them to follow her and they started moving once again. Izzie walked right behind Bailey while George and Cristina walked together. Alex and Skylar walked behind them and Meredith trailed after them.

"So...how's studying for the medical boards going? Do you need some more help?" Skylar said as she glanced up at him.

"Oh, yeah, it's going great! Totally gonna pass the boards tomorrow."

"What? They're tomorrow? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to bother you and it's not your problem."

"Alex, you're one of my best friend's. If I had known they were so soon, I would've offered more help."

"I think I'll manage."

"Will you?"

"Are you doubting me, Sky?"

"No, I'm just saying—"

"Hey, I get it. But it's probably my last day here, so no more worrying about me, okay? I'll be fine," Alex said, ending the conversation. Skylar looked at him with a worried look on her face. She really hoped that he would pass his boards. She couldn't imagine what it would be like if Alex didn't work with her anymore.

Bailey and her six interns were in a patient's room with Derek. The patient, Tim Epstein, had his wife and all his children in the room. It was chaos.

"Tim Epstein, 38, fell off the roof of his house," Meredith informed Bailey and Derek.

"I was stringing Hannumas lights, and a shingle came loose," Mr. Epstein explained. His children climbed on top of him, placing rubber lizards all over his hospital gown. And that was what Skylar disliked about Christmas. Kids. Don't get her wrong, she liked babies, all they did was sleep and cry for food, but toddlers and little children required attention and they were always so noisy.

"Hannumas?" Izzie queried.

"Hannumas, Chrismukkah. We go all out," he explained.

"He fell 12 feet," Mrs. Epstein informed.

"The good news is, my head broke my fall."

Derek nodded and one of Mr. Epstein's daughters flicked a rubber lizard toward him, which hit him in the face. Skylar had to bite the inside of her cheek to hold back her laughter which was noticed by the attending.

"Uh, there are no visible deformities, but he's definitely having some focal left arm weakness," Meredith continued.

"He'll probably be fine," Mrs. Epstein spoke. "He's always been a little hard-headed." Mr. Epstein chuckled at his wife's words, but out of nowhere, he winced in pain.

"Does your head hurt when you laugh?" Derek asked, walking to the side of his bed.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Follow my finger with your eyes, please?"

Mr. Epstein's son jumped on the other bed in the room that was in front of the interns. "I know karate," he proudly said to Dr. Bailey with a grin on his face.

"Dr. Bailey has motherly attractions," Skylar whispered to George beside her, who softly laughed. The two received a hard glare from the pregnant resident, and their smiles instantly fell. "I'll stop now."

Bailey frowned at the madness in the patient's room. "You know what? Your husband might need a little quiet," she suggested, walking toward Mrs. Epstein. "So there's a cafeteria right down—"

"No, no, let 'em stay," Mr. Epstein interrupted. "Pain or no, I don't want to miss out on the holidays with my kids."

"Dr. Kepner," Derek called. "Would you take Mr. Epstein down for a CT?"

Skylar nodded while she made her way across the room, dodging the toys getting thrown from one end to another. One of the rubber lizards hit her in the cheek. Yeah, kids are not fun at all.

Skylar swirled in circles on a chair in the CT room while she waited for the scans to come up. She didn't know why Shepherd put her on this case, well, he had said multiple times that he liked to work with her, but why did it have to be this one? The door opened, and George entered the room, collapsing on the chair next to her. "My patient's family is loud, and I mean loud. I feel like my eardrums are about to burst."

"The Epsteins have three kids, George. Three," Skylar sighed. "They have rubber lizards that are 'attacking the hospital,'" she quoted what the children had said to her.

"Mine are adults. But they're so loud...like, baby adults. I should throw them out."

"Children and toys. The worst combination in the history of the world." They stared at each other for a moment before letting out long sighs. "It's the holidays."

"Definitely the holidays."

The scans came up on the computer screen. Skylar stared at it, shaking her head. "That does not look good at all." She printed the films and said goodbye to George before heading out to look for Derek. She had to roam the hospital for a bit before she found him and Addison in...she didn't know what it was. It wasn't an argument, just a very tense conversation.

"I don't know," she heard Derek mumble. "Whatever, you know?"

"I thought you loved Christmas shopping," Addison sighed. Skylar didn't know if she should interrupt the two or not so she just stood there, silently wishing for one of them to either notice her or end the conversation quickly.

"I'm just really not in the mood for it right now, okay?" Derek saw Skylar out of the corner of his eye with the CT scans in her hand.

"Okay, well, how about French food and Scottish catalogs tonight, around nine?"

"Um, well, I guess that depends on what time I get out of here—"

"Dr. Shepherd," Skylar called, not being able to watch anymore. When both attendings turned to her, she added, "Neuro-Shepherd. Mr. Epstein's CT scans." She gestured to the films in her hand. Derek quickly walked toward her, eager to get away from Addison. "Subdural hematoma?"

"Yes, and that is not great at all."

"Mr. Epstein, sorry to, uh...interrupt," Skylar said after she walked into the room.

"Um, should we talk more privately?" Derek suggested.

Mrs. Epstein shook her head and sat up from where she was laying on the other bed. "No, just tell us," she insisted. "Is it bad?"

"The fall has caused a subdural hematoma," Derek informed.

"I don't even know what that means," one of the daughters spoke.

"It means your dad is, um...bleeding. In his brain," Skylar replied.

The attending nodded. "Look, there are some risks to the surgery. It has to happen before the bleeding gets worse."

"What kind of risks?" Mrs. Epstein worriedly asked.

"See, the bleed is, uh, in an area of the brain that controls the speech and the motor control."

"We don't need operation, okay?"

"You know, Jake, I think we do," Mr. Epstein comforted his son.

"Hey, honey, you know something else?" Mrs. Epstein asked, crouching beside Jake, who was on the bed. "We have a doctor named Shepherd."

"Shepherd," Mr. Epstein repeated. "Is that a sign from God or what?"

Skylar held back a smile and a small chuckle, turning to face away from the family. Derek just glared at her, obviously weirded out by that comment. "Stop laughing," he whispered.

"Sorry, I'll head out, Shepherd."

After Mr. Epstein's successful surgery, Skylar was wandering the halls. She was looking for one of her friends to talk to. Derek had kind of angry-rambled in the O.R, going on about how Christmas was the worst time of the year for neurosurgeons because it's the busiest. She could understand now why his mood was so sour.

She wandered into the tunnels to see Cristina laying on a gurney and Alex was doing something to her. It looked like he was feeling her up, and not in a sexual way either, but that's what she thought and she decided to roll with it.

"Are you that lonely?" She said, gaining their attention. "If you are. There are excellent vibrators. I can get you a catalog," she joked.

"He failed his boards. I'm helping him study," Cristina informed her but she already knew.

"Oh, I already knew that," Skylar brushed it off as she walked closer to them. Alex just rolled his eyes, backing away from the brunette.

"Glad you know how to keep a secret, Yang," Alex sarcastically said. He didn't care that Skylar already knew, it was the fact that Cristina so easily said it.

"He needs our help. And now it's your turn," Cristina said, sitting up and switching off with Skylar.

"Oh, I already helped him study once. This is completely different," Skylar tried to get out of it. She didn't want to pretend to be a patient to help Alex study for his test.

"What if it were you?" Cristina asked, using the same logic that Meredith used to rope her into this.

"It wouldn't be," she responded, knowing she would have studied her ass off and passed the test with flying colors.

"That's what I said. You know, our minds are really linked at this point, Red," Cristina dreamily said. "But, what if it were you?" Getting back on track. "You know, I'm leaving, now it's your turn." Cristina stood up and left without another word said.

"Fine," Skylar said, plopping down onto the gurney. She sighed, locking her hands on her lap. "I'm a 55 year old man. I'm nauseous and I can't stop throwing up—"

"Forget it, all right? I didn't ask for anybody's help," Alex interrupted her. He kind of sucked in the help department. He was terrible at accepting it when he needed it, and he was terrible at giving it.

"Okay, Karev, you can nurse your pride—key word being nurse—or you can pass your test and be a doctor. Up to you," Skylar bluntly convinced him. She was being a bit sour as well today. She didn't like Christmas at all. Thanksgiving was a different story, it was all food, but Christmas was exchanging gifts and showering your family members in love. She was terrible at both. She never had the imagination to come up with a sentimental gift so she just ended up getting her family members jewelry or socks or candy. And then when they got her something they actually put thought into, she felt horrible.

Alex sighed, thinking it over. There really weren't any negative things that were going to come out of this, and Skylar did have a point. "Any abdominal pain?" He asked, standing in front of her.

"Yes, from my giant, fat belly all the way to my back," she played it out. "Oh, and I'm drunk," she remembered. "Hiccup, hiccup."

"Yeah, okay," Skylar said, wanting Alex to stop what he was doing. He was 'examining' her, at least that's what she thought. He was basically squeezing her boob. "The way you're grabbing me, that's assault." She grabbed his hand. "This..." she flattened out his hand and showed him how to do it. "Is an exam pat."

At that moment, George rounded the corner with his lunch in hand and gaped at the scene. "What—" From his point of view, Alex Karev had his hand on his girlfriend's boob, and he did not like it one bit. "What the hell?" Alex and Skylar immediately looked over at him, Alex wanting to stop but couldn't because Skylar still had her hands on his wrist. "What the hell is going on?"

"Unbunch your panties, Georgie. We're helping Alex study," she simply said. "Do it," she gestured to Alex.

"I can't hear you when his hand is on your boob," George choked out, still staring at Alex's movements.

"Take your hand off my boob, Alex," Skylar lightly ordered, him stopping.

"Thank you," George muttered but they still heard it. He knew Skylar would never cheat on him, but he didn't trust Alex. They had slept together before, who's to say that Alex wouldn't do it again? "Study for what?" He asked as he stepped closer to them.

"Shut it, Red."

"Alex failed his boards."

"Seriously?" George wondered.

"I failed one part of one board. That's it," Alex informed.

"Still, that's pretty embarrassing," George chuckled. Skylar's pager went off and she saw she was being paged to Mr. Epstein's room. She was thinking that he probably woke up and it was Derek paging her.

"He's all yours, Georgie," she said, standing up. "Do your worst."

Before Skylar rounded the corner, she heard George say, "You're not giving me a rectal. Do not ask me to cough." She couldn't help but laugh at the situation that her poor boyfriend was in. She laughed harder when she remembered that she put him in that situation.

"He failed his boards!" Skylar heard George say, walking down the hall with Meredith.

"He cheated on me!" They heard Izzie say next.

"Busted," Skylar said in a sing-song tone as she followed them.

"Busted?" Izzie questioned, not knowing what they were talking about.

"His exam is tomorrow," Meredith told the blonde.

"You're in on this, too? He cheated on me, God!" She yelled as she walked ahead of them, not even bothering to look at them as she talked.

"Oh, told you she'd find out," Cristina said, overhearing the conversation.

"Why do you have a tree?" Skylar asked, seeing the plant in the brunette's hands.

"Oh, of course you're in on this," Izzie exclaimed.

"She let him touch her boobs!" George yelled, gesturing to Skylar. The redhead just whacked him on the arm and he jumped looking at her with a surprised expression. That made Izzie stop and turn around to face them.

"He cheated on me with George's skanky syph nurse!"

"That is just plain rude!"

"Why is Olivia now George's?" Skylar asked, her voice raising to match the others.

"We know he cheated on you," Meredith started, finally breaking over Izzie's tantrums. "That's why we let you turn the living room into Santa's freakin' village."

"What?" Izzie questioned, surprised. She had no idea what that had to do with the topic.

"We're not big on holidays! You know that, but we're trying to be supportive, because you're having a hard time. But right now, Alex, he's having a harder time," Meredith tried to explain before she was interrupted by the blonde once again.

"Why does everybody care what kind of time Alex is having?"

"Because he's dirty Uncle Sal." All four of them just turned to look at her with confused expressions. Even Izzie's anger seemed to dissipate for at least a second.

"You lost me."

"Sorry, what?"

"He's dirty Uncle Sal," Meredith said like that should explain everything. "The one who embarrasses everyone at family reunions and who can't be left alone with the teenage girls, but you invite him to the picnic anyway."

"I'm still lost."

"Sorry, what?"

"I have a mother who doesn't recognize me. As far as family goes, this hospital, you guys are it, so I know you're pissed at Alex, but maybe you could try to help him anyway, sort of like in the spirit of this holiday you keep shoving down everybody's throats." Izzie just shook her head and walked away, Meredith leaving in the opposite direction. Cristina walked down a separate hallway with the tree still in hand.

"You..." Skylar started, looking at George with a playful scowl.

"What?"

The redhead just turned and left in the other direction. "Boob?"

After having two craniotomies, Mr. Epstein was finally awake and back to his normal, and healthy self. His family had come back to visit him. His wife and three kids hugged him tightly.

Skylar stood outside their room at the nurses' station. She was filling out Mr. Epstein's chart when Derek rounded the corner. "Drinks?" He asked, ready to head out.

"Christmas in a bar is depressing," Skylar rejected the invitation. She would probably just head back to her house and spend the night with George, Meredith, and Izzie.

"Well, Christmas alone is worse," Derek smiled. "Nice work in the O.R. today, by the way."

"Thanks."

"You'd be great in Neuro. Just putting it out there," he grinned. "Thought more about a specialty yet?"

Skylar smiled at him, putting the chart away. "Merry Christmas, Shepherd."

He nodded, "Merry Christmas."

Words: 3664

This chapter is a bit shorter than the others but I hope you guys still like it.

Hope you all enjoyed it! Don't forget to Favorite, Follow, and Review