A/N: Chapter 13 is up. Thank you so much for all the reviews. This is shorter than the previous chapters, but don't worry the next chapter will be long and have something huge take place.
I don't own Grey's Anatomy, or its characters. Please review.
The next morning, Mark dropped Meredith to the hospital and went on his way to pick Carolyn from the hotel and then take her ring shopping. He was a bit apprehensive about not being with Meredith that day, but as Carolyn was leaving that night, he had no options left.
Meredith got down on the surgical floor and made a bee line for the resident's lounge. She wanted to avoid any unnecessary people on her way. She entered and changed into her scrubs, managing to not talk to anyone.
Bailey came in and informed them about the changes in their duties for the day, assigning Meredith to the pit and telling her to meet Yang there.
She was just about to leave, when Alex approached her. "Hey, are you alright?" He asked concerned.
"Yes. I am okay." She said, leaving the room at once.
She went down to the pit, where saw her friend. Suddenly, they were asked to rush to te bay where two ambulances unloaded. Meredith escorted the first patient inside. Just as she was entering the ER, she was stopped by a young girl.
"I'm Lexie." She said. "Lexie Grey." She added when Meredith looked confused and angry becuase of her interruption.
"Move." was all Meredith could say.
Meredith started the initial work-up. Her patient was a woman in her forties who had a nasty wound on her arm. "Page Dr. Montgomery-Shepherd" She asked the nurse.
"You paged," Addison asked coming inside the room.
"Thirty-five weeks pregnant." Meredith explained. Addison started the workup and attached a foetal monitor. When she saw a liquid in the abdomen, she asked Meredith to book an OR.
"My hand..." Came the patient's voice.
"Ma'am... ma'am, i need you to calm down." Addison soothed her.
"I am a single mom... my hand..." she cried.
"Where is Mark?" Addison asked the resident.
"He is not in today, he went to meet Carolyn." Meredith answered. She hoped he was here.
"I'm calling him." Addison said, "get her a neuro check-up." she added before leaving the room.
Meredith saw Derek on the nurses' station and went up to him. "Hey, I need a neuro exam." she said.
"Dr. Shepherd... Dr. Yang is calling for you." Came a timid voice, just as Meredith finished. Derek and Meredith turned to see Lexie standing there.
"Tell her I'll be right there." He said. He turned to Meredith and asked her to lead him to her patient, first. "You okay," he asked her.
"Yes. Oh my God, what is it with everybody?" she asked exasperated.
"We're just looking out for you." he replied, putting his hands up in surrender. "Now, watch what I'm doing. A few months later, you will do these exams yourselves." Meredith nodded and focused, thankful for the distraction.
She met up with Cristina in the elevator headng to the OR floor. "What do you have?" Cristina asked.
"Pregnant lady with nasty arm laceration. Mark's been called on his off day to save it."
"Man! I got a potential aneurysm. Why do you have to get the better case?" Cristina complained. Meredith just smiles and chuckled. "You wanna switch?" She pleaded.
"No. It has been quite sometime since I've scrubbed in with Mark and I'm excited to see him save this woman's arm." Meredith replied.
Meanwhile, Addison called her friend, who she knew was busy with something very important.
"Dr. Mark Sloan." he answered, without checking the caller ID.
"Mark, it's Addison. You need to come to the hospital." She said.
"What? Why? What's wrong? Is Meredith okay?" He fired, imagining the worst.
"It's a patient. I really need your help." She said, and then explained him the situation. Mark pondered for a moment, then conceded, agreeing to get back to Seattle Grace in twenty minutes.
He turned to Carolyn, who had an understanding look on her face. "I will send you the pics, next time I get to come here. You help me out like that." Mark said.
Then, an idea struck Carolyn, "How about I go through these designs, the top ten I like, I will ask them to keep them separately for you. You return after your surgery and buy the one you like best."
"But who will drop you then?" Mark asked.
"I will ask Derek or Addison to drive me. I can also take the bus." She shrugged.
"No, Ma. I'm sure Derek would drop you." Mark said then took out his credit card and gave it to her incase the store managers refuse to set aside the chosen rings.
He drove to Grey-Sloan Memorial, and immediately headed to the OR, where he met Addison and Meredith.
"Give me the patient's brief history." HE said as soon as he scrubbed in.
"Forty year old pregnant female, nasty bruise on her arm. It's difficult to say if it's still functioning." Meredith updated him.
"Neuro exam?" He asked.
"Clear."
"Then why was I called on my day off?"
"The patient is a single mom. She can't take care of the kid with just one arm. If anyone can save this hand, it's you." Meredith said, with a hint of pride.
"See, that's what you call a proud girlfriend. Now, Dr. Grey, why don't you come assist me?" Mark smirked and got to work.
Addison had delivered the baby successfully, who had been taken up to the NICU by Dr. Robbins. "Addie, just send Derek in here for a bit." He asked her as hse was leaving the OR.
"I gave this patient a clear, Mark." Derek said as he entered.
"I know. I need you to check these nerves here. I've finished the rets of it." Mark explained.
"Move over." He looked over, then brought some medical supplies to come to a better conclusion. "This looks good. No defects are seen now. We can do the pain stimulus test once she wakes up."
"That was so cool." Meredith exclaimed. She had thoroughly enjoyed doing surgery alongside Mark. He always took her through all the steps he did and also quizzed her. Even Addison had asked her the occasional question.
"Plastics isn't just nose and boob jobs, babe." Mark teased her. "And you're welcome to scrub in with me, whenever you want."
"Hmm.. I'll keep that in mind, when you have an exciting procedure," Meredith agreed,.
"In plastics, every case is different. it's not just craniotomies and aneurysms and tumours." He jibed at his bets friend standing beside them.
"Every aneurysm is different." Both Derek and Meredith said together. Mark just laughed.
"I have lost you to the dark side." Mark pouted teasingly to Meredith.
"Please, even Yang enjoyed aneurysms. She did her first solo today." Derke told them.
"Her first aneurysm clip? My God!" Meredith exclaimed. "I'm jealous, now." wanting Cristina's case instead, now.
"You had to tell her?" Mark mumbled to Derek. "Now her boring case is suddenly better." Mark shook his head at his girlfriend and her friends' antics.
"Meredith, the next aneurysm I get, it's yours." Derke promised her. All of a sudden, her jealousy had vanished and a smile came to her face, matching teh one that was before. "Now, where is the first draft I asked you to write?"
"Uh, yes. It's there in his office. I'll go get it." Meredith said, moving out of the scrub room.
"She has a key?" Derek asked.
"Yeah, gave it to her yesterday." Mark said. "You mind dropping Ma off to the airport. I need to be at the jewellers'."
Derek nodded. "Sure, how is ring shopping, by the way.?" Derek asked knowing that a damper was put in his plans due to the emergency surgery.
"I had to come here. That's why she is still there, choosing a few designs from which I can decide." Mark explained. He proceeded to talk to him about his plan for proposing to Meredith.
"Good luck." Derek patted him on the shoulder and smiled.
"Hey." Meredith greeted as she sat down for lunch with Cristina and Alex.
"Hey. I just clipped my first aneurysm." Cristina bragged.
"I know. Derek told me."" Meredith said, still a bit jealous.
"Ha." Cristina smirked.
"You done with your article?" Alex asked.
"Yeah. Just handed over the draft to Derek." Meredith said. She could feel someone's eyes on her, so she turned around and glanced over the cafeteria to see Lexie staring at her. "God, why does she keep looking at me?" Meredith groaned.
"You're her sister." Cristina said as an explanation.
"God! Why does everyone keep saying that? She is not my sister. I just carry half the gene as her. Nothing more. " She pushed her tray further down the table and got up, leaving the cafeteria. She headed to the one place she knew Lexie Grey would not disturb her, Mark's office.
In the meantime, Derek and Mark had left the hospital to the jeweller's. Derek picked up Carolyn and took her to the hotel and then dropped her off at the airport. Mark, after bidding Carolyn goodbye, entered the showroom. The salesgirl recognised him and proceeded to show him the rings Carolyn had selected. He went through them and smiled when he saw the ring he knew would be perfect. It was a simple 1.5 carat diamond ring with a platinum band. No more glitter or stones. Perfect for Meredith. Soon, very soon he would ask Meredith to marry him and he just hoped she would say yes.