On the Regular
Miranda woke up stretching and smiling. "Sorry, did I wake you up?" Ben asked when she turned over. He was sitting up and watching TV; he was also tapping on his tablet. She shook her head and ran a hand through her hair. "Good." He winked at her. "Good morning, sweetheart."
"Morning," she responded.
"How'd you sleep?" He asked muting the TV.
"I slept well." She pulled the covers up to her neck. "What about you?"
"I slept good. I feel good."
"We got a lot off of our chests last night," she said.
"Yeah, we did," Ben agreed.
Miranda's mind went back to their multiple conversations last night. He was going to California. He was in love with her. He wanted to continue their relationship. And what did she want? Miranda shook her head and asked; "What time is it?"
"6:30."
Miranda yawned. "I should probably get Tuck up," she said throwing back the covers.
"Not before you kiss me," he said leaning over. She smiled and shook her head. Ben puffed out his cheek for her to kiss. She giggled and kissed it. He turned his head quickly and kissed her lips. "Mmm. Thank you."
Miranda got out of bed and went to wake up her son. He was sitting up in his bed reading a book. "Good morning, mommy."
"Good morning, baby," she said sitting on the edge of his bed.
"Is Ben still here?" He asked without looking up from his book.
"Uh, yeah, he is," Miranda asked slowly. She cocked her head to side. "How'd you know Ben was here?"
"I couldn't sleep and I came into your room last night."
"Oh," she said. "Well, it's time to start getting ready for school." She kissed his head and walked out of the room.
Back in her room, she went into the bathroom and brushed her teeth. Then, she got back into bed beside Ben. "So, Tuck said he couldn't sleep last night."
"Yeah. He came in here and I was up—"
"I thought you said you slept good."
"I did, but I get up sometimes," he said laughing.
"Right," Miranda answered blushing.
"So, uh… he woke up in the middle of the night and came in here, I'm guessing to talk to you, but I was awake and you were snoring—
"I know you're not talking," she said throwing her leg across his body. He held onto it, stroking her upper thigh. She laughed.
"So, we went downstairs, watched a little TV and had a couple of bowls of cereal," Ben said.
"Then what?"
"Oh, well, I went to bed. I don't know what he did." He looked at her bewildered face with a serious expression on his own face. "Miranda, I'm kidding." She exhaled. "He went into his room, I tucked him, well, as best as I knew how and I got back into bed."
Her heart was bursting. Ben not only wanted to be with her long-term, but he took care of her son. Chills ran up her spine. It was almost too much. "Ben?"
"Yes?" He asked turning in her direction.
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"I talked to Tuck, I know what you told him."
"Was it okay? Did I overstep any boundaries?"
She shook her head. "No, what you said… was amazing. I guess I didn't know you felt that way about him."
"Of course, I did. I mean, I do."
"He's crazy about you, too," Miranda confirmed. Ben's hand continued to creep up her leg.
"I know. And I want to tell him soon that I'm, you know, leaving. I don't want to wait and then have my buddy be mad at me."
"I trust you. You can tell him whenever you're ready." Ben nodded. "You know, you're a good man, Ben Warren."
He put his tablet on the dresser and turned to her, touching her cheek. "You're a good woman, Miranda Bailey. And you have a great kid." She smiled widely as he kissed her deeply. It'd felt like forever since his tongue had been in her mouth. She loved that feeling. "What time are you going in?"
"I'm going in at 10," she told him. "You?"
"I'm scheduled to go in at 8:30 or 9, one of those."
"Want to get lunch?"
"You don't want to eat with Torres?" Ben asked still holding her face in his hand. Miranda shook her head. "She didn't mean to tell me what she knew." She raised an eyebrow. "Miranda."
"Yes?" She asked with a smile, blinking slowly.
"Look, Callie was… not right, okay? But, what she did, I think, was for the best." Miranda took a deep breath. "She thought you were avoiding her."
"I wasn't. I was just preoccupied."
"She was worried."
"I had a lot on my mind."
"She's your best friend, don't push her away."
"I'll think about it," she said honestly.
He looked at her. "Don't think about it, Miranda Bailey." She rolled her eyes at him. "Be mad at me. Forgive her."
"I'd appreciate you not telling me what to do," she said getting out of bed. Ben did the same. He caught up to her and threw his arms around her shoulders. Her back rested on his chest.
He leaned down and spoke into her ear. "I'm not telling you what to do. I'm not insane." Miranda made a face. "I'm giving you advice." He kissed her cheek. "She messed up a bit, but she's good people." His hands fell to her waist.
"I know. I know. I just wanted to tell you myself, you know."
"That's if you were going to tell me," Ben said quickly.
"I would have."
"Maybe."
"Maybe," she responded shrugging her shoulders. He turned her around and kissed her collarbone. She moaned softly. "What was going through your mind when you thought I was pregnant?"
"Shit. A million things. But my main thought was how cute our baby would be and how much I loved you," he said smiling down at her.
"Liar. You were probably wondering if it was yours," she said with a smile.
Ben took a small step away from her, his hands still on her waist. "Look at me." His voice was serious and his eyes narrowed. Miranda's eyes found his. "I cannot believe you said that."
Miranda saw the hurt in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Ben. That was bad—I can't…," her voice trailed off.
"Look, Miranda. I would never question that." He looked right into her eyes. "Trust me." Alright?" Miranda sighed with relief and nodded. "Alright." He moved closer to her. "Now where was I?"
Miranda pointed to her neck. "Right here," she said.
Ben put his lips on the spot she'd pointed to. "Oh, yeah, I remember." His hands worked their way up her back.
"Ahhh," she sighed softly into his ear. Ben started to lift her shirt up when Tuck knocked on the door. Miranda cleared her throat and moved away from Ben. "Yes, Tuck."
Tuck walked into the room. "Hey, Ben."
"Hey, LT," Ben said still holding Miranda's hand.
"Mommy, I'm dressed. Can I make some cereal?"
"You didn't have enough cereal last night?" Miranda asked. Tuck looked at Ben and the three of them laughed. Tuck shook his head. "Yeah, go have breakfast. And be careful not to spill anything on your clothes." Tuck nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him. Ben's hand found her waist again. He walked them over to the bed where he gently pushed her back on the bed and moved on top of her. Ben kissed her passionately, sliding a hand up her shirt. "Unh-uh, Ben Warren, my son is awake and downstairs," Miranda said with her body pounding. She pushed him off of her and he rolled onto his back.
"Take a shower with me?" He asked with a smile.
"You know what? I feel like I should," Miranda laughed. "The last time I declined your request, bad things happened."
"Soo…?"
"I'm still going to decline," Miranda responded. Her cell phone rang. They looked at each other. Miranda rolled her eyes. She went over to the dresser and looked at the number. Unknown. She let it ring once more before she picked it up. "Hello?"
"Miranda?" A voice, one she recognized immediately, said.
"Julia?" Miranda said. She looked at Ben who had a confused look on his face.
"Yes."
"Good morning, what can I do for you? Did you need to talk to Ben?"
"No, I called your phone. I want to talk to you."
"What's up?" Ben asked over her shoulder. Miranda waved him off and pushed him out of the room.
"So, Julia, can I help you with something?" Miranda asked.
"No, I took your number from Ben's phone." Miranda didn't speak, she just listened. "And, I was just taking you up on your offer to have lunch. Today."
"Um, I don't know," Miranda said. She didn't know what Julia's deal was. What was she getting at? Honestly, she was still pissed at the woman for being so wretched and Miranda wasn't sure she was ready to forgive her yet.
"I know why you're hesitant and I'll explain all of that over lunch. My treat." Miranda smiled to herself. A free meal even if it was with a dragon who was pretending to be a woman.
"Sure. But, I can't do lunch. Dinner? Tonight? Does that work for you?"
"Dinner is great," Julia said. "Is 6 o'clock good for you?"
"6 o'clock is fine," Miranda answered.
"Nice. I will text you the details. Have a good day," Julia said. Miranda echoed the well wishes and disconnected the call. She went downstairs and saw her boyfriend and son eating oatmeal at the table.
"I thought you were getting cereal?" Miranda asked.
"Ben said oatmeal is cereal," Tuck said. "Is he right?"
Miranda nodded and looked at Ben who had his head cocked at Tuck who was shoveling oatmeal into his mouth. "Yes, little boy, he's right." Miranda checked the time and gestured for her son to hurry up so that he wouldn't miss the school bus. He hugged Ben and then his mother. She stood on her porch and watched him run down the block to catch up with a small group of boys. She closed the door and jumped when she came face to face with Ben. "Don't do that!" She said hitting his chest.
"Sorry," he said laughing and rubbing the area she'd just attacked. He pulled her in for a hug. "What'd my mom want?"
"To have dinner."
"With us?"
"No, with me. Well, I'm assuming it's just me. She didn't even mention you."
Ben scratched his growing beard. "And you're going?" She nodded. "Are you okay with that?" Miranda nodded again. "She's paying, isn't she?" With a smile, Miranda nodded for a third time.
"Oh, I should call Tucker and see if he's available," Miranda said more to herself. "Or Jaida."
"I can watch Tuck," Ben said interrupting her self-talk.
"Hunh?"
"Tuck. I can watch him tonight."
"You can?"
He nodded. "Yeah, we'll hang out. It'll be fun." Miranda twisted her lips. "C'mon, Miranda. This is not complicated. He can't be by himself. I'm free. I'll come over and we'll chill. Done. Check that off of your list."
A smile spread across her face. "Thank you, baby," she said, pulling him in for a kiss.
Ben pulled away and said: "I just hope you'll still want to than k me when you get home at the end of the night." They laughed. Ben left and Miranda got dressed for work and headed to the hospital. She walked through the doors and was immediately pulled away by Richard.
"They're arriving," he said in a hushed tone.
"Good morning?" She said.
Richard leaned into her. "Good morning. They're arriving."
"Okay. Who is 'they'?" She asked.
"The fellows," he said.
"Oh! The fellows," Miranda said with a smile.
"You're smiling. You feel better."
She nodded. "And I'm ready to 'woo'."
"This is why you're the Head of General."
"I guess," Miranda said.
Richard chuckled. "So, I'm going to take them around and then at lunch, I'll bring them to the cafeteria, where you'll be casually sitting and I'll beckon you over to chat them up. And you'll usher them around and bring them to my open cholecystectomy."
"Sounds good, Chief," she answered cheerfully.
Miranda walked away and headed to the locker room. She put on her headphones and put on her scrubs. Pulling on her lab coat, she saw a shirtless Alex walking up to her. "Good morning, Dr. Bailey," he said with a smile.
She pulled the ear buds from her ears. "Do you need to borrow a t-shirt?" She asked sarcastically.
He shook his head with a smile. "We have two games this weekend."
"It's about time. I've been wondering when the games will start." Alex nodded. "So the scrimmages are over?"
"Yeah, they're over and the league schedule is up."
"And Wilson is okay with you playing in this league?" Miranda asked as she smoothed her back into a ponytail.
He laughed. "Yeah, she is." Miranda made a noise. "Kinda." They talked a little while longer and a few minutes later Ben joined them.
"Hey, baby," he said hugging Miranda. He kissed her quickly on the lips and then on the cheek. Miranda blushed when she made eye contact with Alex who was also blushing. "What's going on here?" Ben jested looking from Alex to Miranda. She chuckled.
"Dude! She used to be my boss," Alex said. He shook Ben's hand. "So, like I was telling Bailey. The schedule's up and I really want to win this year."
"With me on your team, you won't have to worry about it," Ben responded.
"So cocky," Miranda uttered under her breath. "Are you going to be able to finish the season?" Alex looked from her to Ben. "I mean, I don't even know when you're leaving."
"Wait a minute. You're leaving? Leaving-leaving? Like leaving Grey Sloan?"
"Like leaving Seattle," Miranda said looking up at Ben.
His cheery disposition was gone. "I am leaving Grey Sloan. And Seattle."
Alex rolled his eyes. "Damn. When? Why?"
"I'm leaving in a few months. I've been accepted into UCLA's surgical residency program."
"Whew!" Alex said with a laugh. Miranda and Ben stared at their teammate and colleague. "By the time Warren leaves, the season will either be over or we'll be in the playoffs already!" He shot his hands into the air, his abs contracting. "Congrats, dude!" Alex said patting Ben on the back. His excitement made the three of them laughed.
"What?" Miranda said as she arrived in front of Samantha Cameron, the resident who'd paged her. She was at a standing computer station in the hallway.
"Um, Dr. Bailey, I was trying to figure out why this patient, Janell Day, is having seizures—when I noticed she has a hemolytic anemia," she said in between bites.
"So, she's having an autoimmune response. Go on," Miranda said picking a cookie from the stack that was sitting in front of the girl next to the screen.
"Right," Cameron said with a short smile. "If antibodies are attacking her red blood cells, who's to say that antibodies couldn't be attacking her brain, causing the encephalitis?"
Miranda moved to the next screen and clicked the mouse, pulling up the patient's scans. "Oh, and it's not a brain tumor. That's why you paged me."
"Well, yeah and I thought I could win you over with my cookies. My homemade cookies," Cameron said. She picked up the plate of stacked cookies and offered another to Miranda.
The attending rolled her eyes and picked up two of the cookies. "Alright, well, I want to get home to my son eventually, so here's how this is going to go. In a timely and efficient manner, you and I will rule out everything that could be causing this woman's body to attack itself, virus by virus, tumor by tumor, until we land on the one thing—"
"It's a teratoma!" The girl shouted as she took another bite of her cookie.
"What?"
"I sent off Janell's C.S.F. from her spinal tap for anti-N.M.D.A. receptor antibodies and it just came back positive."
"Show off," Miranda said shaking her head. "Good work, Cameron. Let's get a scan." Cameron set up the scans in the patient's room and spoke to her husband. The patient, Janell, was medicated and had a tube in her throat and was in no position to receive the news that they had about her condition. "We think this thing on Janell's lung is something called a teratoma. It's creating antibodies that are attacking her brain," Miranda started.
"Well, I-I don't get it," her husband, Klay, said. Miranda looked at the young husband. They'd only been married for eight months. "The best months of my life," he'd told them.
Miranda glanced at her student and nodded slightly, giving her the floor. "Basically, her body sees the tumor as an invader and is attacking it and her brain is getting hurt in the, uh, crossfire," the resident explained.
"So, this thing on her lung is causing her seizures?" Klay asked.
"I think so," Miranda said. "We'll have to remove it and test it to make sure."
Klay looked over at his wife, the machines beeped in the background filling the silence. "O-okay, so you take it out, her headaches stop, she wakes up from the coma and we get to go on to live our lives?" He asked scratching his head.
"That's the plan," Cameron said.
"Okay. Then you do it. Take it out, Dr. Bailey." Miranda and Cameron nodded. Miranda really felt bad for them. It always seemed to be the good people who were struck with tragedies.
"We've known each other since high school. She's my better half. I mean, I know people always say that, but Janell really is."
Miranda walked out of the room and felt her phone buzz. It was nearly two o'clock. Once they extracted the tumor from Janell Day, she'd have lunch and soon she'd be walking out of the hospital and on her way to dinner with her boyfriend's mother. She wouldn't say it out loud because it sounded much better in her head. She wondered what Julia wanted to meet with her about. If the woman started talking crazy, free or not, she'd leave. She had enough in her life to worry about than to listen to her spew crap. But, she'd stay positive. Maybe the woman wanted to apologize, Miranda thought. Then she laughed to herself; the idea seemed so ridiculous. "Hey!" Ben said catching up with her.
Her heart fluttered. The sound of his voice took her happiness level up a bunch of notches. And his hand on her nearly broke the scale. "Hey yourself," she said smiling up at him as she kept walking. She was meeting up with Cameron quickly and then she was going to have lunch.
"Still having dinner with my mom?" He asked with a grin.
"Yes, I am. Why?"
"Oh, nothing."
"If it was nothing, then why'd you bring it up?"
"You really think you're going to get out of here in time to make a six o'clock dinner reservation?" He asked. They stopped walking.
Miranda turned to him. "Yes, I do."
"And you've been a doctor for how many years?" She waved him off. "Do you want me to call her and push back the time?"
"Absolutely not."
"Mmhmm."
"No, um, as soon as path confirms that the mass we took out was the teratoma, I will free for the rest of the day, hopefully."
"Yeah, okay," Ben said sarcastically.
"You know what? I'm ending this conversation," she said and she walked away from him. She heard his footsteps behind her. He jumped in front of her leaned down to kiss her. It was soft and quick. When she opened her eyes, she looked around, blushing.
"There's no one around," Ben said confidently.
"That's not the point." He rolled his eyes. "I'm at work." He nodded and kissed her again. She resisted the urge to grab his face and stick her tongue down his throat. When they pulled away, she asked: "What was that for?"
"Because I love you and for good luck."
"Good luck?"
"Yeah, good luck on your procedures and good luck because you're nutty if you think you're getting out of here on time." He laughed loudly and walked back in the direction they'd just come from.
Miranda found Cameron in a room surrounded by x-rays. "Benign granuloma."
"Damn it," Miranda said.
"What's that, Dr. Bailey?" Cameron said.
"Nothing," she answered sucking her teeth. Ben had been right.
Miranda and her resident examined the scans. "But it doesn't make any sense. Janell's labs show that she has a teratoma."
Miranda took a breath and crossed her hands. "Then the lucky woman has two tumors. The benign one that we just took out of her lung and another one." She blew out air.
"But where?" Cameron asked turning her attention from Miranda to the scans. "Her, uh, scans are clean." She searched the labs again. "Her ultrasound is clean."
Miranda's phone vibrated in her pocket; her alarm was going off. It was almost time to 'meet' the Chief for lunch. "What if it's microscopic?" She asked mostly to herself. "Alright, what do we know about N.M.D.A. receptor teratomas?" Miranda closed her eyes and waited for the resident to answer.
The girl put tapped her pen against her leg. "We know they're most commonly found on the ovaries." Miranda glanced at the girl sideways. Cameron's face looked shocked. "Dr. Bailey, you want to take out her ovaries? She's 32 years old!"
Miranda scoffed with no intention of being sarcastic. She put her hands on her hips and looked at the girl. "They're always 32 and nice and undeserving." Cameron shook her head slightly. "These kinds of things don't happen to nasty people." The resident nodded and they made their way back to Janell Day's room.
They explained to Klay Day that the tumor that they'd taken out, while a tumor, was not the one causing the problems in his wife's body. "L-let me get this straight. All right, you—," he chuckled nervously. "You take this thing out of her lung and it's not what you thought it was. Now you want to take out her ovaries?" He scratched his head.
Miranda felt terrible. She tried to explain: "The kind of antibodies that she had are most commonly associated with teratomas of the ovaries." She could tell that he was really trying to follow what she was saying, so she slowed down her speech a little. "But they can sometimes be found in other places; which is why we thought the mass on her lung was it."
"Chances are high that it's on her ovaries," Cameron piped up.
"Chances are?" Klay asked, spitting his question at the young doctor. Miranda wanted to jump in, but Cameron had to learn how to deal with the frustration of a patient's family. It was part of the job. "That's the best you can do? She is young! She still wants kids. We want kids. We—no. No! Y-you're doctors. You're gonna have to do a hell of a lot better than 'chances are'." He was yelling now.
Miranda started to cut him off, but Cameron spoke first. She spoke calmly and with the voice of a veteran. "Klay, if we do nothing, she will continue to have the seizures. And, eventually, her body will just completely shut down. And by that time, she will have suffered so much brain damage that Janell, the woman that you love, she'll be gone."
Miranda resisted the urge to smile as she listened to the girl. Not only had she calmed the husband, but she was also 100% correct. She made Cameron schedule an emergency procedure with an available gynecologist. She ran back and told Miranda that the procedure was schedule to happen in an hour and a half. "Okay, okay. Um, we'll go and get some lunch and we'll meet back in the OR in 90 minutes." The girl nodded and hurried away and Miranda made her way to the cafeteria. She walked in and grabbed a chicken sandwich and a bottle of lemonade. After paying for her food, she spotted Ben sitting with Alex and Shane Ross. Alex waved her over, definitely wanting to talk about basketball. Ben shook his head slightly and jerked it towards Callie who was sitting next to Arizona at a table across the room. Miranda rolled her eyes. Ben glared at her and then smiled. She smiled back at him and nodded before trudging over to the table that her best friend and her wife were sharing. As Miranda approached the table, Callie had her head down looking at her phone and was sipping through the straw in her cup. Arizona nodded and kissed her wife and quietly got up from the table. Miranda sat down. Callie looked up briefly and then continued to look at her phone. "Don't pretend like you didn't you just see me sit next to you."
"I thought you'd be mad at me."
"Why does everyone want me to be mad at them?" Miranda asked looking around dramatically.
Callie laughed. "Who else wanted you to be mad at them?"
"Girl…," Miranda started and she told Callie about what'd happened after the big dinner. When Miranda got to the part about Callie calling, Callie's face fell.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! So sorry!" Callie said turning to her best friend. "I did not mean to tell him anything, but when you didn't return my calls, I got worried and then when Ben answered your phone, I just told him something that I'd promised you that I wouldn't. And I'm sorry."
Miranda took a bite of her sandwich. "Torres. It's… it's okay."
"It is?"
"Yeah," Miranda said with a laugh. "If it wasn't for your big mouth, Ben and I wouldn't be on such understanding terms."
"Even with him leaving?" Callie asked.
Miranda nodded. "Yeah, but I have a couple of months to 'adjust'," she said using finger quotes.
"I really am sorry, Miranda. For everything."
Miranda nodded slightly and looked across the room to where Richard was talking with the candidates. He nodded to her and he widened his eyes and then squinted. "I am being summoned," she told Callie.
"Alright. I'm on my way to the ER. Call me." Miranda nodded again. "Oh! And have fun at dinner." Callie laughed loudly as she picked up her tray.
"Yeah, right!" Miranda responded over her shoulder. She walked over to her mentor surrounded by and talking to three unfamiliar people. "Good afternoon, Chief."
"Erm, Dr. Miranda Bailey, Head of General. I want you to meet Dr. Aimee Wilkson from Boston U, Dr. Jordan Lestle from Florida St. and Dr. Grace Sampson from Seattle Pres."
Miranda shook hands with all of them. "Good afternoon, everyone. How's your day going so far?" Miranda asked. They said that the day was going fine. They'd seen a lot of the hospital and they'd already met most of the General staff including Meredith Grey, daughter of Ellis Grey, but they were most eager to see the Chief in action. She looked up at Richard. "Yeah, he's great. He's been my mentor for years. And he's an excellent surgeon."
"Thank you, Bailey. You're great as well," Richard said blushing. The doctors grabbed some food and Miranda ushered them to the long table that she'd shared with Callie. The four general surgeons talked a little more. When Miranda got up to get more napkins and a refill on her drink, Ben strolled over to her.
"Hey, Bailey, who are your new friends?" He asked her.
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Those are three exceptional candidates for the General Surgery fellowship here at Grey Sloan Memorial," Miranda said.
Ben looked down at here and winked. "Let's go over and say 'hey'," he told her.
"I already said 'hey'," she told him through gritted teeth.
"C'mon," he said taking her hand. They walked back to the table. "Hello, everyone," he said flashing a wide smile. Miranda saw the doctor Boston U, a tall, white woman with brown hair and the one from Seattle Pres., a Black woman with her hair in a bun, blush. Miranda blinked slowly, licking her lips. "I'm Dr. Ben Warren, Anesthesiology." Ben shook the hands of the visiting doctors as they introduced themselves. "Is Dr. Bailey here treating you well?"
"We just met," Miranda said quickly looking up at Ben. She added a smile. She was supposed to 'woo' them.
"She sure is," the guy from Florida State said. He was a short, white, round guy with black curly hair. She had to remember their names.
"And you're the only doctor so far that has introduced him or herself without Dr. Webber having to do the introductions," the one with the bun said.
"Is that right?" Ben asked. They nodded. "Well, Grey Sloan can be a pretty friendly place once you get to know people." Ben pulled up a chair for Miranda and one for himself. "So, Grace, can I call you Grace?" The doctor from Seattle Pres. nodded. "Is there any part of the hospital that you guys haven't seen, but would like to?"
"Well, we're supposed to be able to sit in the gallery and watch Dr. Webber's Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy," she answered.
Ben and Miranda both nodded as her beeper went off. "Uh, sorry, guys, I have an emergency procedure and I need to get going."
"What kind of procedure?" The one from Boston asked.
"An oophorectomy. A young woman has a tumor in her body that is giving her seizures and we don't know where it could be," Miranda explained as she stood up, slipping her pager back into her pocket. When she looked up, the doctors where staring at her.
"That sounds interesting," Boston U. said.
"Yeah," Florida State said.
"Can we sit in on that?" Seattle Pres. said.
"Yeah," Florida State said.
"Uh, what about Dr. Webber?"
"No offense, Dr. Bailey, but we've all seen and done our fair share of cholecystectomies," Seattle Pres. said. "But a 'Where's Waldo' tumor? I've never seen anything like that."
The guy from Florida State nodded. "And, to be honest, that's why I applied to Grey Sloan. The kinds of surgeries and procedures that you guys do and have done over the years has been amazing."
The ladies nodded and Ben smiled inconspicuously. Four pairs of eyes were looking back at her and something inside of her felt bad that she was about to take the audience for her mentor's surgery. "What do you say, Dr. Bailey?" Ben asked her, saying her name in a way that make her heart skip.
She pursed her lips and looked at rolled her eyes to the plain, white ceiling. "Fine. Let's go. And hurry." As the visitors emptied their trays, Miranda took the chance to talk to Ben. "You…"
"Yes."
"Get on my nerves." she said smiling at him and walking away, knowing that he was staring at her.
Miranda instructed her resident to usher the guests to the gallery and to scrub in quickly. As she scrubbed she prayed that they would find what was wrong with the patient. She also prayed that although they were removing the woman's ovaries, that, at least, some good would come of it. As she stepped into the OR, Miranda introduced herself to the gynecologist, Desmond Archibald, who was a third year resident. He was a black young doctor, tall and lanky with a low haircut and dark brown eyes.
"Good luck, Dr. Bailey," a voice in the corner of the room said.
"Thank… you!?" She asked looking into the eyes of Ben. His narrowed eyes meant that he was smiling. Miranda blushed. "What are you doing here?"
"Watching you put on a show for our guests," he said under his breath while looking up and nodding at the eyes nearly plastered to the glass.
"Right," she scoffed. "Let's get started. Cameron, you're ready?"
"Yes, Dr. Bailey," she answered.
"Archibald?" Miranda asked. The young doctor nodded.
Miranda made an incision to open up the patient and the three doctors started their hunt. "No indication of a tumor," the gynecologist said.
"Well, it could be microscopic," Cameron said looking over her mask to Miranda.
Miranda's eyes were still looking into the body cavity. "There are a lot of adhesions on this one; that could mean inflammation," she told him.
"Which we think could mean a teratoma," the girl told him. They eyed each other and Miranda let the tension go on as she wondered who would back down first. "Yes, should we take out the right ovary, send it to path and try to save the left one?" Cameron asked. They both looked at Miranda. She nodded. Archibald gestured for the scalpel. Cameron opposed. "Dr. Bailey, I was hoping that I might be able—"
"Oh, no," he answered before Miranda could get a word in. "And I'm the G.Y.N., so I really should be the one. Plus, I can't trust your intern hands. Clamp."
"I'm going with him. Sorry, Cameron." She glanced at Ben who was chuckling to himself.
The girl nodded: "Of course, Dr. Bailey." She was way calmer than Miranda would have been in her position. But, then again, Miranda had been in her position as an intern and had never said a word, she'd have to talk to the girl about that. She'd earned the right to take out the ovary and had let the opportunity pass. It would have to be a lesson learned. "Dr. Bailey?"
"Yes," Miranda said raising her eyebrows.
"Ever thought you'd be wishing so hard to find a tumor?" Cameron asked.
"No, I did not," Miranda said shaking her head. Archibald took out the right ovary and they sent it off to path. Miranda gestured for a few medical markers and drew out a tic-tac-toe board on the light blue cloth covering the patient.
"Um, Dr. Bailey, what's this?" Archibald asked.
"Well, since I am the Attending in this room, I say that the winner of tic-tac-toe, two out of three, gets to do the next major cutting." Cameron looked from Miranda to Archibald.
"Seriously?" He asked.
"Seriously," Miranda confirmed.
Cameron smiled beneath her mask. "Yes!" She said pumping her fists. "I mean, cool."
The two young doctors split the first game and halfway through the third game, Miranda stopped the game and got their attention as the intercom got her attention. "Oh! Uh, here we go. Pathology's back
"The ovary specimen you sent is normal. No pathology seen," the voice said over the intercom.
"Damn!" Miranda said.
"We picked the wrong ovary," Samantha Cameron said.
"Dr. Bailey, there's a chance the other one's clean, too," Desmond Archibald said.
She turned to him quickly, glaring at him and his eyes widened. "You aren't that optimistic, you know that?" She took a breath and clicked her tongue. "The teratoma is there."
"It has to be," Cameron said affirmatively.
"Well, if not, we'll have just sterilized a woman for no reason," Miranda said. Desmond gestured for the instruments.
"Dr. Bailey," Cameron said clearing her throat. "I won."
"Excuse me?" Desmond asked.
"I won tic-tac-toe," she said again. Miranda looked over at the board.
"It was a draw. And since—"
"She's right. She has you in a two-way. So no matter where you put your 'X,' she would beat you anyway."
Cameron smiled widely as he put his hand down and they switched positions. "Clamp." Miranda looked up at her before focusing her attention on the patient.
"You know, standing over me is not gonna make me read it any faster," the idiot looking through the microscope said. They were out of the OR and waiting for him to read the slides. Miranda glared at him, shooting imaginary lasers into his chest. She didn't have time for jerks with complexes. Also, the three visitors were standing by the door, whispering and watching her every move. So the best she could do, besides losing her temper, was stare at him. "This part of the specimen is a little abnormal, but until I look at a couple more slides—"
"Move over," Miranda said.
"Dr.—"
"Move over," she repeated, pushing the guy back in his rolling chair. She motioned for Cameron to look into the microscope.
The girl put her eyes to the instrument and squealed softly. "Dr. Bailey, see what I see?" She asked and slid to the side. Miranda adjusted the scope and looked into the lenses.
"I haven't confirmed it yet," the young man said slowly. They ignored him.
"A mix of different cell types, which is compatible with teratomas. Is that what you see?" Miranda asked turning towards the girl who was nodding. "Dr. Russell?" She asked the young man in the gray scrubs.
"Okay, yes," he said drawing out the words like it hurt his feelings to admit that they were right. "I'd say that it's very likely a teratoma."
"Yes!" Miranda shouted.
"Teratoma!" Cameron said shooting her hands into the air with a huge smile on her face. Miranda looked into the microscope again and put a hand up and smiled as Cameron gave her a high-five. They walked out of the room. "Dr. Bailey, you're buzzing."
"What?"
"I think your phone is ringing," the girl said to her.
"Oh Lord, what time is it?" She asked already knowing that she was late.
"Almost six thirty," one of the visitors said. She didn't know which one.
"We need to go and update the Janell and her husband and then I need to go."
"I can go, Dr. Bailey. I can do it," Cameron said.
"I don't know."
"I can handle it."
"You have been pretty useful today," Miranda confessed. "You definitely earned cutting out both ovaries."
"So, why did you let Mr. Third Year cut out the first one?"
"You didn't even put up a fight. He did. I can't reward you for not being hungry and punish the shark." Cameron nodded. "But you did snatch the left ovary from right under him. Classic," Miranda said with a smile.
"Thanks for giving me another chance," Cameron said shuffling her feet. Hair was falling into her face.
"Next time don't screw up the first," Miranda warned the girl. Miranda coached the young doctor on points that she should hit when talking to Janell and Kyle. "Well, okay. And remember, I'm just a phone call away if you need me." The girl nodded and Miranda turned and walked away nearly running into the Chief. "Sorry, Chief."
"You took my candidates," he said pouting and putting his hands on his hips.
"Yes, sir, my procedure went very well. We only saved a woman from a lifetime of debilitating seizures. No problem. And they're my candidates," she corrected him and mimicked his movements.
"Fine. Your candidates," he conceded. "So?"
"So, I really have to go and I'll tell you all about them later," she told him patting him on his shoulder. He laughed and shook his head. Miranda turned around and addressed the visitors. "Thank you all for coming in today. I hope that I didn't scare you guys away from Grey Sloan," she said with light laugh.
"Definitely not!" The tall doctor from Boston U said.
"That's nice, Aimee."
"You know my name?" The woman said jerking her head back.
"Of course." She looked at the next candidate. "And you're Jordan Lestle and she's Grace Sampson." The other candidates looked shocked as well. "Well, I really need to go. You can get my information from Chief Webber and I'm available to answer any questions. Have a good night." She turned on her heels and hurried to the locker room. She changed her clothes and shoes and rushed out of the hospital. Rushing out of the door, she saw a familiar body sitting by the window. She stopped in her tracks. Julia. What was she doing here? "Julia?"
"Ah, Miranda."
"What are you doing here? I'm on my way to the, uh, restaurant."
"Yeah and you're only 45 minutes late," Julia said with a laugh. Miranda joined in. "But it's no problem. Ben called me and warned me that you'd be late and that I should meet you here."
"What an intuitive son you have," Miranda answered. Julia gestured for her to sit down. Miranda's stomach growled.
"Hungry?"
Miranda shook her head. Julia looked at her, cocking her head to the side. Miranda nodded. "A little. I only had a light lunch and I've been on my feet for hours."
"Well, let's go on over to the restaurant and we'll talk there. Follow me?"