Chapter 33: Exam Jitters
Addison woke up feeling suddenly chilly. The room was dark and quiet. Blindly she moved towards Aelwyne's side of the bed to find it empty still. The brunette had walked her to bed and kissed her goodnight before going back to the living room to study some more with the rest of the interns. Tomorrow was a big day. It would finally be the day of their exam. The most important one yet.
Looking at the clock next to their bed she noticed the late or rather early hour so she went searching for her Bug. As she neared the living room she heard light snores and some mumbling. Entering the room the first thing that caught her attention was the pacing Aelwyne, eyes glued to Callie's flash cards. Then she noticed Meredith and Cristina sleeping next to each other in very uncomfortable looking positions. She would have them move to the guest room but first she needed to deal with the bundle of nerves before her.
"Bug… I miss you." Addison called groggily.
"Addie, sorry. I just need to study." Aelwyne snapped out of the cards for a moment and then back. She looked so very tired and yet she still paced and mumbled.
"Your brain needs a break, Ael. Besides, you know those cards front and back already." Addison walked to her and stopped her from pacing.
"I need to do good." Aelwyne insisted, her eyes still on the cards.
"Aelwyne, you will. I know for a fact you three are going to pass with flying colors." Addison lifted her chin to make her look at her. "What's this about?"
"I'm sorry." Aelwyne looked at her, finally putting down the cards.
"You don't have to apologize. Just tell me." Addison smiled.
"I just get… nervous. Tests make me nervous. It's something that has happened to me since I was a girl. Because just that one piece of paper will determine my future. And if I fail that. I'll fail them." Watching her sad eyes as she spoke made Addison wrap her in her arms.
"I know. And everyone knows you'll pass. You won't fail anyone. But even if and that is the biggest if. If you somehow manage to not pass then we'll take it again. You'll only have failed when you give up." Addison ran her hands up and down Aelwyne's back soothingly, hearing the brunette sigh.
"Get a room." Cristina's husky voice came from the couch.
"In our loft, we get to do what we want wherever we want." Aelwyne scoffed and chuckled.
"Whatever, I'm hungry." Cristina said as she got up slowly to let Meredith keep on sleeping.
"You know where everything is already so go for it." Aelwyne smiled sleepily at her friend.
"It's almost 3 am, you two. Grab something light and get to bed Cristina. I'll get Meredith and you pick up the mess." Addison said, bopping Aelwyne on the nose.
"Ok." Aelwyne scrounged her nose a bit before giving her a smile.
"Yes, mom." Cristina mocked as Aelwyne began to pick up the mess of papers and books lying about.
"I'm not your mom. I'm far too young and pretty." Addison pipped as she made her way towards a snoring Meredith. Cristina rolled her eyes playfully as Aelwyne chuckled lightly.
"Meredith." Addison called gently tapping on the blonde's shoulder but she did not move an inch. "Meredith?" She called once more, shaking her a bit.
Meredith opened her eyes and looked up at her for a while, confusion lining her face making Addison chuckle.
"What? W-why are you in my room?" Meredith struggled to keep her eyes completely open.
"You're in my living room, Meredith." Addison smiled and Meredith looked around.
"Oh." She said before letting out a yawn.
"Mer, let's go to bed." Cristina called chucking a pillow over at her while eating a banana.
"M'kay." Meredith grumbled and stood up with Addison's help. Cristina snickered at the pair from where she stood.
"What?" Addison asked, still holding onto a very sleepy Meredith.
"It's funny. Like who would've thought you'd be so nice to the woman that stole your husband." Cristina chuckled and Meredith froze, suddenly awake.
"Cristina." Aelwyne warned.
"Too soon? But it's a good thing." Cristina shrugged.
"She didn't steal anything. I gave him to her." Addison winked at Meredith who relaxed a bit. "Besides, look at what I got." She glanced over at Aelwyne who beamed in spite of her very sleepy eyes.
"You three will make me vomit one of these days." Cristina groaned.
"That's until you meet your one." Meredith smiled now walking by herself. "You won't meet them tonight though. Let's go to bed." She said, pulling a chuckling Cristina along.
"I don't need my one. I'm more than enough for myself. Besides, I have my fingers." Cristina laughed as they made their way down the hall. "Hey."
"That's what you get. Shut up." Meredith scolded. "Goodnight." She called before Cristina echoed.
Aelwyne kept laughing at Addison's shocked face and reached out her hand to her. The redhead took it quickly and then they too were off to bed. As they reached the room Aelwyne went to change into pajamas while Addison waited for her sitting on the bed.
"Something wrong?" Aelwyne smiled as she looked at Addison.
"When did we become that close that Yang is comfortable enough to talk about that?" Addison asked, making the brunette chuckle.
"What do you mean that?" Aelwyne asked, feigning ignorance.
"You know damn well what I mean, Bug." Addison shook her head at her with a grin.
"I don't know, Baby Girl. My brain is full of medical lingo. I forget other things. You want to remind me?" Aelwyne smirked and climbed on Addison's lap, quickly latching her lips on her neck.
"Mmm you want that?" Addison moaned lightly.
"Yes." Aelwyne sultry voice rang.
"Well… no. Come on." Addison stood holding onto Aelwyne and spun, throwing the giggling brunette on the bed. "It's time for bed Bug. Nice try."
"Ah it's just, you are so damn edible." Aelwyne half-whined half-giggled.
"Yeah. Yeah." Addison replied as she turned the lights off and climbed in bed next to her. Aelwyne quickly snuggled up to her and sighing contently once Addison's arms wrapped around her.
"I love you." Aelwyne kissed her cheek gently.
"That's good." Addison smiled. "I love you too."
They were quiet for a moment and Addison was starting to fall asleep when Aelwyne spoke once more, tightening her hold on Addison.
"Will you still love me if I fail?" Aelwyne asked softly.
"I'll love you even if you decide to not be a surgeon and become a garbage man, well woman." Addison answered, placing a kiss on the brunette's hair.
"Yeah?" Aelwyne giggled.
"Hell yeah. I can't live without you." Addison said quickly.
"Ok. Goodnight Baby Girl." Aelwyne finally nuzzled on Addison's neck as she usually did.
"Goodnight, my sweet, sweet bug." Addison said as she closed her eyes and relaxed.
As they got ready the next morning the scent of burnt coffee hit Aelwyne as she opened the door. She threw a look at Addison, who started chuckling and nodded for her to go check. Once she got to the kitchen she found Meredith pacing in front of the coffee maker and Cristina washing a mug.
"Meredith." Aelwyne called.
"It wasn't me. She burned it." Meredith pointed at Cristina who started laughing.
"You're pacing in front of the coffee maker." Aelwyne smiled.
"I want coffee." Meredith whined. "And this idiot burnt it."
"It's not that bad." Cristina shrugged.
"I'll make you some coffee, Mer." Aelwyne said as she added water and ground coffee to their respective places in the coffee maker.
"Morning." Addison greeted, happily. "Did you burn the coffee, Meredith?" She asked, sending Cristina into another fit of laughter.
"It wasn't me." Meredith protested.
Addison stood with Aelwyne outside of the locker room. The brunette kept on shifting and playing with her charm. The nerves irradiated from her and they were starting to get to Addison.
"Look at me. And stop fidgeting." Addison grabbed onto Aelwyne's hands smiling.
"Sorry." Aelwyne said softly.
"Don't apologize. Just breathe." Addison encouraged and the brunette took a shuddering breath. "There you go. Now, you are Aelwyne Neirhem Ashenryver. Wow, quite a mouthful don't you think?" She began.
"You're one to talk, Addison Adrianne Forbes Montgomery." Aelwyne chuckled.
"Hey, not talking about me here. But look. You laughed." Addison smiled triumphantly. "What I was getting at is that you should trust yourself. Ael if you weren't capable of passing this exam I would have never allowed you to touch a patient in my O.R., ever. You are smart, brilliant. You are going to pass this exam and become a resident and finally tell me what specialty you'll be doing because it's killing me, not knowing."
"I love you." Aelwyne smiled.
"I love you too." Addison smiled back.
"I'm still nervous though." She admitted biting her lip as Addison started to chuckle.
"Well, define ASD." Addison's attending voice came out.
"ASD or atrial septal defect is a hole in the septum between the atria. It's a congenital condition." Aelwyne responded quickly.
"Symptoms?" Addison pushed.
"Shortness of breath while active, fatigue, swelling of legs, feet, or abdomen, heart palpitations, stroke, and heart murmurs." Aelwyne replied.
"And why would we consider intervening with an ASD found in a fetus?" Addison asked.
"Transcatheter closure of an ostium secundum ASD could be considered in pregnant women with cyanosis because of right-to-left shunting and poor fetal growth." Aelwyne replied calmly.
"Good. Now define brain avm." Addison asked another question just as quickly.
"An avm or arteriovenous malformation is a tangle of abnormal blood vessels connecting arteries and veins in the brain. Symptoms include seizures, muscle weakness or numbness in one part of the body, and headaches. Though there are more severe ones..." Aelwyne explained.
"Treatments?" Addison interrupted.
"We could do a resection, or an embolization, or SRS." Aelwyne responded.
"What does SRS stand for?" Addison continued.
"Stereotactic radiosurgery." Aelwyne replied.
"What's neurocysticercosis?" Addison asked again.
"Parasites in the brain." Aelwyne answered quickly.
"Jejunal atresia?" Addison continued hammering for answers.
"A type of obstruction in the small bowel of a newborn." Aelwyne said and waited patiently for more.
"Signs of a ruptured spleen?" Addison asked.
"Pain in the upper left abdomen, tenderness when palpated in the same area, left shoulder pain, dizziness or lightheadedness, and confusion." Aelwyne responded, noticing Bailey watching them form the counter.
"An agitated African American woman in her 40s comes in complaining of nausea, heartburn, and pressure on her chest. She is telling you she's having a heart attack. What do you look for?" Addison asked a more complex question and by then the rest of the interns were outside waiting by Bailey who looked at the two half amused.
"I'd order an EKG, I'd run a full cardiac enzyme panel, and a cardiac stress test." Aelwyne said, which sent George mumbling about why not call a psychiatrist.
"Why?" Addison tilted her head.
"63% of women who die suddenly from coronary heart disease had no previous symptoms, and women of color are at far greater risk. Besides, heart attacks don't show the same way in women as they do in men." Aelwyne explained and Cristina cheered from where she stood.
"Good. Rather impressive for someone thinking they are going to fail." Addison smiled and Aelwyne finally dropped her gaze. She quickly lifted her chin and kissed her cheek pulling her into her arms. "When you read a question imagine me asking it. Imagine Bailey looking at you with that look that sends you all scrambling for answers. Imagine standing opposite Derek while he fixes an aneurism. And Mark's smug smirk leaving his face when you tell him the right answer." She pulled back and smiled brightly as Aelwyne giggled.
"I'll answer all your questions Dr. Montgomery. And then we'll go celebrate." Aelwyne pecked her lips as the oo's and aw's from her friends filled the hall.
"Well, Dr. Montgomery has patients ,I'm sure, and you six can go focus on some more studying. You will not see patients. You will not do scut. You will not be anywhere near the O.R.s or E.R.. Am I clear?" Bailey ordered and Aelwyne detached quickly from a chuckling Addison, heading off with the rest of the interns as they left to go down to the tunnels.
"Hey." Addison said to Bailey as they watched them go.
"Hey yourself." Bailey smiled a tiny smile, which Addison returned happily. "Is she ok?" She asked.
"She's scared to fail them." Addison smiled sadly.
"Them?" Bailey asked.
"Her family." Addison explained.
"That kid is something." Bailey sighed.
"She would be devastated if you called her that." Addison chuckled.
"What can I say? That idiot in plastics is rubbing off on me." Bailey shook her head.
"Ok. Don't ever let him hear that." Addison chuckled.
"Who?" Mark asked next to them.
"None of your business." Bailey responded with an eyeroll and left as Addison stifled her laugh.
"People love me." Mark smirked.
"Yeah. You keep telling yourself that." Addison started walking away and he followed after her joking around.
A few hours later and after the buzz in the E.R. died down Addison, Callie, and Arizona sat together in the lobby staring into nothing with charts open. Addison was done with hers, since she had only had two patients, and was helping Callie finish up her own. While Arizona breezed through hers. But for a moment they looked up and forgot about their work.
"It's so quiet and boring." Callie said after a while.
"I miss the interns." Addison sighed.
"No honey. You miss an intern. Just the one." Arizona smirked.
"Quiet Robbins." Addison pushed her lightly.
"How do you think they're doing?" Callie asked as she propped her head up on her hand.
"Well I spent a long time listening to them study. The only one that worries me really is O'Malley but I think he'll pass." Addison asserted.
"Yeah, if he takes his time and doesn't second guess himself, he should be fine." Arizona concurred.
"What about Karev?" Callie lifted her brow in question.
"He'll pass. Trust me. He may be a tool and an arrogant ass when Stevens isn't around but the man knows his stuff." Addison said bitterly.
"You're still jealous of him, aren't you?" Callie teased.
"No. Yes, just a little." Addison gave in. "It's just it irks me when he calls her… you know." She shrugged.
"What was it again?" Arizona tried to recall. "Sweetness! Yep, that's the one." She said triumphantly.
"Yeah, that." Addison rolled her eyes.
"Why are you jealous of him? Is not like you don't trust Neirhem." Arizona asked.
"I trust her. I may just be mad that he gave her that nickname and now I can't use it myself." Addison mumbled. "But I mean, Bug is great. And she loves it so maybe I should stop being petty." She said with a pout.
"How do you deal with it when you go out? You know like not Joe's, when everyone that knows you both is there, and not to another intern or surgeon's house. Out like on a date. Because I'm sure there are plenty of people who would ogle her and you. You are both stunning. So how do you deal with it then? The jealousy. Is she as possessive as you?" Arizona asked and tilted her head expectantly.
Addison stayed quiet as she tried recalling the times she had gone out with Aelwyne and suddenly her heart sank. The intern and her had gone to, yes, Joe's, and Meredith's, and Mark's, and to court. But they had never gone out like on a date.
"Addison?" Callie called, tapping Addison on the shoulder.
"I've never… oh god. I've never taken her anywhere. What kind of girlfriend am I?" She gasped, covering her mouth with her hands as her eyes started to prickle with tears.
"It's ok. You are both surgeons. It happens." Arizona tried to reassure her.
"No, it most definitely is not." Addison leaned back looking at the ceiling and shaking her head.
"Addison. You two have been together for just a few months. You met here while you were still married. Then she got attacked. Then the trial happened. Then you got divorced. Then finally after scaring me half to death with those Satan eyes you told her how you felt. You became a thing, finally, then Mark appeared. And it seemed like the end of the world but he fixed it. And then studying for the intern's exam became the next focus." Callie listed everything that had happened between them. "It's ok. She loves you, doesn't she?" She asked.
"Yes." Addison said softly.
"Then, the fact that you haven't gone out on a date doesn't matter to her." Callie smiled. "And besides, you have the rest of your lives to go out on dates. Like, aren't you both off tonight?"
"We are." Addison nodded and then a smile grew. "She wants to celebrate after." She was beaming.
"Ok, then. Let's look for a nice restaurant or like a nice place for a date." Arizona started searching on the computer as Addison and Callie leaned in to look over her shoulder.
"She likes simple things. I guess as long as it's…" Addison started but stopped as she began to blush.
"As long as it's you, she's as happy as one can be. Was that what you were about to say?" Arizona smirked.
"Be quiet." Addison said.
"Acting pretty smug there, Montgomery." Callie teased along with Arizona.
"Shut up and help me find something." Addison said, trying to keep the smile from her face and failing.
Cristina had been the first one done so she had waited outside for the rest. Aelwyne and Meredith joined her on the steps pretty soon after.
"How did you guys do?" Cristina asked.
"I almost got stuck on a partial burns one but then I remembered what McSteamy told us that night at Ael's so I was ok." Meredith said happily.
"I think I did ok, after I got over the nerves, which was after the second question." Aelwyne smiled.
"What was the second question?" Cristina asked, tilting her head.
"It had to do with jejunal atresia, which was one of the questions Addie asked this morning. So then I did what she told me to do and I was fine." Aelwyne grinned.
"You are giving me indigestion." Cristina groaned.
"You know. You were the biggest advocate for us to get together. Why are you being like this now?" Aelwyne chuckled.
"Because I'm complicated like you." Cristina shrugged. "I'm happy for you though, Angel Eyes. You two deserve to be happy. I'm glad you get to do that now." She smiled.
"Thanks for the pushes. Both of you." Aelwyne leaned into Meredith, who smiled, and took Cristina's hand and squeezed it.
"Hey." Izzie said as she walked out. "You should've heard Alex just now." She smiled and sat next to Aelwyne.
"What did he say?" Aelwyne asked.
"Iz." Alex groaned.
"What? It's sweet." She smiled. "So George started freaking out when we got up to leave. Like he looked really nervous…" Izzie began.
"So I threw my pencil at him." Alex interrupted.
"Alex." Meredith scolded.
"Yeah but then he said... Tell them." Izzie beamed at him.
"I just told Bambi to remember he was Heart in the Elevator Guy." Alex shrugged and rolled his eyes.
"Aw. Evil Spawn is so nice." Cristina mocked and Aelwyne laughed along with Meredith and Izzie.
After a few more minutes with some teasing and small talk, George walked out with a small smile. The rest of the interns looked at him and smiled back.
"So?" Cristina asked.
"I think it went ok." George said "Thanks." He said to Alex.
"Whatever." Alex looked away.
"Yeah." George smiled.
"Well?" Bailey's voice rang and they all stood and looked at her.
"We did good, Dr. Bailey." Cristina said happily.
"You better have. You are my interns." Bailey said and looked somewhat proud of the statement. "Anyway, Grey and Neirhem are off for the day. Yang you are on until 11:30 tonight along with Karev. O'Malley and Stevens you are on until 7:30 am. So Yang, Karev you're both in the pit. O'Malley with me until they leave and Stevens the same but you're with Sloan." She told them their assignments yet they stood there. "Fine, go eat something and celebrate a little but behave then report to your assignments.
"Thanks." They all said in unison and scurried away to the cafeteria.
"Miranda." Addison whispered as she watched the interns leaving.
"Why are you whispering?" Bailey asked.
"Because I don't want her to see me." Addison threw another glance at the chattering interns.
"Why?" Bailey asked, confused.
"Because… I don't know." Addison shrugged and chuckled.
"I'm sorry Addison but you're an idiot." Bailey shook her head.
"Miranda." Addison gasped. "Anyway, where are they going?" She asked.
"I sent them to celebrate in the cafeteria. Since only Grey and Neirhem are free to go home." Bailey explained.
"Oh, good. I need more time." Addison grinned.
"Time?" Bailey tilted her head.
"Yeah, for the reservation. It's a surprise. I want to take her out to celebrate." Addison bounced a bit excitedly.
"Yeah, a bouncing, giggling idiot." Bailey shook her head and smiled as Addison laughed.
And then there were 33! Yay we have date night coming up. Again to all of you who have stuck with me, thanks. You guys are awesome and I appreciate all the support. I've gotten some people asking me if I could continue with the story, which honestly makes me extremely happy. I never thought people would like it as much as they do. However I am close to reaching everything I had planned for this story. That doesn't mean that I'm not open to the idea of writing a sequel in the future but for now there's not much more I have for Aelwyne and Addison. Also I have a lot of Meddison occupying my brain at the moment, which needs to come out. Anyway sorry for the ramble. You guys stay awesome and keep on reviewing. Until date night, I mean, next time. ;)
