Here is the next Chapter, following s18e09. Enjoy and please leave some love if you liked it.
Kai was grateful for Amelia's distraction, it really did help to keep their mind at ease but now, pacing the hallway again, the worried thoughts were slowly creeping their way back in. Luckily, it wasn't long before Meredith walked out the door to the OR hallway.
"Here you are." She said approaching Kai with a calm smile.
"Everything went well, he'll be fine. You can head to his room if you want, they should bring him in shortly."
"Thank you, Dr. Grey." They said relieved and decided to get a cup of coffee first, reaching Hamilton's room just as he was getting connected to the monitors.
After the tech and nurse finished their jobs and left the room quietly, Kai sat down in the chair beside the bed and looked at David. The research it was one thing, but at least now the part of them worried about him was finally at ease.
He was far from easy to work with, stubborn and demanding but since the very first day he approached them about their research, he treated them with respect, the same way he would any of his colleges. Which, unfortunately, they can't say about all the people they've ever worked with. Also, he was a genius in his field and accomplished so much progress which Kai admired him for. Over the many months they worked together, through all the setbacks and tiny wins, Kai grew to like him in a friendly almost-a-father-figure kind of way.
And behind the huge relief they felt that he's going to be fine, there was also a pang of disappointment. Of all people, David knew the best how hard they worked on this project, how much it meant for the future of Parkinson's treatment and still, he was willing to put it all on a line because of his selfishness.
Kai was sitting there a good while lost in their thoughts when David started to come back to consciousness.
"How..." he cleared his throat, "How did it go?"
"You didn't die." Kai said with a dry voice.
David chuckled painfully, "Well, I guess that is a good thing."
A nurse came in, walking towards his bed "Welcome back, Dr. Hamilton. How are you feeling?" she asked as she started checking his vitals.
Hamilton fell back asleep and Kai was left to fidget with their now-empty coffee cup when Meredith waltzed in. Although, in their opinion she was a little harsh on Hamilton, they pretty much agreed with what she was saying and voiced that by speaking their mind as well. Before walking out, however, they made sure David was aware they are mad at him a bit but it's not that serious and they will get over it.
Meredith was looking at the board with the OR schedule when Kai approached her.
"Hey, uhm, Dr. Shepherd, she got paged to a case earlier. Do you know if she's still busy?"
"Oh yes. There's been an accident, our friend, a surgeon at the hospital. She's operating on him right now." Meredith said looking at Kai.
"I'm sorry about your friend." They said.
"Thank you. I'm heading to watch the surgery now, if you'd like to join me?" She suggested.
"Yeah, I might. Just need to get some more coffee on the way." They shook their cup to indicate it was empty.
"That sounds like a great idea." Meredith smiled. "Would you mind grabbing one for me too?"
"Of course, not a problem."
"Thank you. Do you know how to get to the galleries, or should I wait for you?" Meredith was checking.
"I can find my way." Kai nodded confidently.
"Okay, then. It's gallery to OR 4. I'll see you in a bit." Mer said as she grabbed a tablet to check some charts on her way.
Kai got the coffees and found the right gallery with no trouble.
It must have been some sort of invisible energy that made Amelia look up from the surgical field in front of her and spot them right as they were walking in. They couldn't hide their smile as their eyes met hers and they motioned a hello with the coffee cup they were holding. And even through Amelia was wearing a surgical mask, they knew she smiled right back at them because it sparkled in her eyes so beautifully.
After going through the tumor scans earlier, Kai felt a newfound appreciation for surgical skills when it comes to neuro and they managed to notice Amelia's confidence in her technique before the other surgeon kicked everyone out of the gallery.
They've decided to go back to David and catch up on some work on their laptop.
It was the middle of the afternoon when Kai's phone chimed with a text from Amelia.
"Sorry I haven't been able to get back to you yet. A busy day. How's Hamilton doing?"
Kai saw Amelia typing something else, but she must have changed her mind because the three-little-dots-icon disappeared and there was no other message.
So they typed back, "No worries. He's doing well. Stable. Resting."
No reply came through so Kai returned to reading a long report of another Parkinson's related project and only got distracted a good long while later by their grumbling stomach. They've decided it was a good time to take a break and go in search of some food.
Just as they walked into Joe's, there was another text.
"Finally done for the day. Are you still at the hospital?"
"No, I've got hungry so went to grab something at the bar across the street." They texted, followed right after with a "Wanna join?"
"Sounds good. I'll be there in a bit."
Kai figured that since Amelia is coming, they won't be returning to work that day, so they ordered a glass of Scotch with their meal as well. By the time Amelia arrived at the bar, Kai managed to finish their burger but offered her some of the fries.
…. (Insert a scene from the episode)
"My life, uh, is… messy. And I would totally understand if you don't want anything to do with that mess." Amelia said and Kai could hear the heaviness of emotions in her voice. It occurred to them that this was the point where she really was expecting people to just walk away. But they couldn't do that, so they chose to lighten up the conversation.
"Tell me, is your type always hot square-jawed men?"
…. (Insert a scene from the episode)
Seeing the internal turmoil the topic of Amelia's son's dad had caused her, Kai asked if she wanted them to buy her a drink. The yes came immediately, but when Amelia clarified that she actually didn't drink, Kai understood there is a deeper meaning behind it than a simple preference. Bit by bit they realized there is way more layers to this woman than they initially expected. But still, they wanted to do something for her, to let her know that Kai's not the one to run for the hills just because Amelia indeed is carrying some baggage. So they slid the fries across the table to her.
"Thank you." Amelia smiled gratefully, in her eyes a silent understanding of the hidden message behind the gesture.
"Do you really think the FDA will approve another window for the surgery?" They asked after a while, watching Amelia chomp down on a fry.
"I don't see why they wouldn't. The complication wasn't due to any part of the prep. We will write a detailed report explaining it and believe me, Meredith can be VERY persuasive when it comes to things like these." Amelia said picking up the last two of the fries and waiving them in the air, she continued.
"And since the surgery went smoothly with no complications I can recommend moving forward as planed after Hamilton's recovery. And honestly, I can't think of a surgeon who would be against it, medically speaking." She finished and shoved the fries in her mouth.
"Okay, that does make me feel a bit better." They admitted and Amelia gave them an encouraging nod.
"I'm positive it will all go as planned." she reassured again and asked, "When are you going back to Minnesota?"
"Well, I can't stay here the whole time David recovers, I have couple things back home I have to get to and, it's the holidays." They say, trying to figure out their plan for the next couple of days. "My plane ticket is for Thursday afternoon. And I think I'll keep it that way. I can use the lab here to catch up on some work." They decided that it may not be the worst thing to have almost two more days in Seattle, especially with the possibility of hanging out with Amelia some more.
"I like that. It means I might get to see a bit more of you."
"You might, yes." They were pleased that it seemed like she wanted to be around them at least as much as they wanted to be around her.
"I work early tomorrow and have Scout from the afternoon but how about we get lunch at the hospital together?" Amelia was thinking out loud.
"Sounds like a plan I can get on board with."
"Great. And uhm, since we established that you are in no hurry to get to any planes tonight, let me grab something else to eat because I was really starving and as much as I appreciated the fries, I'm still a bit hungry." Amelia grinned sheepishly.
"Of course."
"Would you like anything? Maybe another one of those?" Amelia asks pointing at their drink.
"Nah," they shook their head, "I'm good with just one." They felt a little awkward having it in the first place after Amelia confessed to not drinking. They didn't know if it bothered her or not but definitely didn't want to make matters worse by putting too much weight on it or asking prying questions so they chose to be as considerate as they could in the current situation, hoping they will learn more about this side of Amelia when the timing is better.
Amelia nodded and walked away to order at the bar.
She came back with a small plate of grilled cheese, a bit of fries and a glass of soda.
Kai eyed her little plate as she set it down on the table and slid back into the seat.
"Is that a kid serving?" They asked raising an eyebrow.
"Yes." Amelia laughs, "Don't judge me, after I ate all of your fries, I wouldn't be able to finish a whole burger."
"Not judging." Kai laughed, thinking how incredibly adorable Amelia was.
She span the plate around so that the fries ended up on Kai's side.
"Would you like some fries?" She asked playfully, hinting at the fry sharing remarks made earlier.
A quiet chuckle bubbled out of Kai and they took one, dipped it into the dollop of ketchup on Amelia's plate and bit half of it off.
"Oh, I wanted to ask you…." Amelia remembered, "Have you read the latest article of the Chinese research team on using the SAR images as a visual target detection tool in brain mapping yet?"
Kai squinted their eyes a bit as they were trying to recollect that from their memory but got nothing.
"I don't think I have."
"You should look into it at some point. They've mentioned couple interesting ways of application that could, theoretically, transfer into our field of interest. I'd like to hear your thoughts on it."
"I'll make sure to get to it tomorrow." Kai nodded making a mental note to themselves.
A waiter came in to pick up the empty dishes left from their food and they both thanked him as he was walking away.
"Are you staying at the Plaza Hotel?" Amelia asked, her fingers restlessly tapping her glass.
"Yeah, why?" Kai asked scanning her face curiously.
"I can walk you there." She smiled at Kai who was trying not to let her see the slight disappointment that the evening is about to end. But they know Amelia has a super early morning tomorrow and they couldn't just sit here forever, could they?
"It's on the way to my house. I came in with Meredith this morning, but I bet she's long gone by now. And a walk sounds really good."
"Oh." Kai paused, thinking. "In that case, I'd like to walk you home. I don't love the idea of you having to walk alone."
Amelia looked at Kai like she was slightly taken aback by their protectiveness, in the best possible way.
"I appreciate that but it wouldn't make sense for you to go all the way there and then back to the hotel. And if we did do that it would be you walking alone."
"I'll be fine." They stated.
"So will I." Amelia laughed. "It's a perfectly safe area, I promise. And it's me who knows the way anyway."
"Fine." They finally gave in, at least for now.
"So, shall we?" She nodded her head towards the door and Kai hummed in agreement, standing up to grab their coat.
The two of them have been walking for a while, recounting to each other funny lab stories from their respective years at Hopkins. At some point Amelia's hand accidently brushed over Kai's and they took it in theirs. There was no flinch or hesitation. Just like that, in the middle of Kai's sentence, they took her hand like it was the most natural thing to do. And it kind of was. So, there they were, walking at dark on the streets of Seattle holding hands. And it felt right. It felt so damn right.
When the pair reached the hotel, they both paused and looked at each other.
"Are you sure you don't want me to walk you home?" Kai wanted to make sure once more.
"No, it's not far from here. I'll be okay." Amelia confirmed her decision.
"Okay." Kai accepted. "But please, text me when you get there?"
"I suppose I could do that, yes." She grins, caressing a gentle circle with her thumb on their hand.
Looking at Amelia's beautiful face in the light of streetlamps, Kai suddenly felt a strange vulnerability and wondered whether the woman standing in front of them can see it in their eyes as they cleared their throat and spoke.
"You know... What you did today, trying to distract me from worrying and... uhm … overthinking too much... It was really nice of you, I appreciate it. A lot."
Amelia smiled and nodded her head once, "It was the least I could do, Kai."
They shook their head a bit in a silent protest but ended up not saying anything. They just leaned in a bit closer so they could smell the wonderful scent that was so Amelia.
"May I kiss you?" They asked.
"You may." she replied looking into their eyes as the distance between their lips disappeared. The kiss was sweet and tender, and it melted something deep inside the both of them. When their lips parted, Amelia reached up with her free hand and caressed Kai's cheek.
"Good night." She whispered before planting a quick peck on their lips and let go, walking away.
Kai was just about to pick up a book they had been reading these days when a text message came through on their phone.
"Safe and sound in the warmth of my bed. *winking smiley face*"
"That's one lucky bed. Good night." They texted back before setting the phone down with a smile.