The Best Medicine
Chapter Three:
A Brand New Life
"Is it operable?" Olivia watched with baited breath as Derek studied the x-rays before him. He had his arms crossed and his head tilted, a thoughtful expression on his face. The longer he waited before speaking and the more 'hmms' he made, the more nervous Olivia felt. She tried to concentrate on her breathing - anything but the way Derek was looking at those x-rays. She couldn't explain why she felt that way. Oh, who was she kidding? She may not have the best relationship with her mother, but Maya was still her mother.
"This is a really big tumour." Olivia turned her head slightly, glaring at the doctor beside her. Leave it to Derek to sound almost impressed by the size of a tumour.
"I know that." She crossed her arms, tapping her foot. From where she was standing, the tumour looked impossible - in a difficult position and extraordinarily large. She wasn't Derek though, and she sure as hell wasn't a neurosurgeon.
"It'll take a couple surgeries, but I think I can get it." She breathed a sigh of relief. Some people would have been put off by the way he had made that statement, but she was a doctor. You don't give false hope. She understood that. She had also been working with Derek long enough to know that if he thought he could do something, more than likely he could.
"But you can remove it?" She wanted to be sure she had heard him correctly.
"I want some scans of my own before I decide exactly what to do, but yeah. I think I can. Who's the patient?"
Taking a deep breath, Olivia answered: "My mother."
"Get her in to see me as soon as you can. She's my top priority until this tumour is gone."
"I'll let her know what you said so she can book a flight. Thank you for this, Derek." He nodded. She knew he wasn't going to say much more. He never was the best in awkward situations like this. He could comfort a patient better than most of them, but he wasn't comfortable when his friends were in pain. Not that she was in that much pain. For now, her mother was just another patient with a life-threatening problem that needed to be solved. For her sanity, that was the only way she could look at the situation.
Bracing her shoulders, Olivia walked away from the nurses station, intent on finishing her morning rounds. She wasn't going to let this situation with her mother prevent her from being on top of her game. She sighed loudly when she reached the first patient's room - no resident or intern in sight. Glancing down the hall, she yelled at the two interns loitering around:
"You two, get down here." She sighed when the two inched closer, recognising them as Lexie Grey and the intern that Cristina had named 'two'. Rolling her eyes, she began speaking, "Grey, where is Yang?"
"She's with Dr. Hahn."
"And did she give you two any assignments?"
"She told us to get her coffee," the tall, lanky boy responded. Olivia nodded, handing the chart she was holding to Lexie and giving the boy her attention.
"What's your name?" He looked taken aback at first, glancing from Olivia to Lexie and jumping slightly when Olivia demanded, "Your name?"
"Steve Mostow."
"Well, doctors Grey and Mostow, you are on my service today. We're starting rounds now."
"Alright." She tried not to smirk at the excited mumble from the two interns as she turned her back. She remembered what it had been like working as an intern. Fighting and clawing your way into the attention of your attendings and into the OR. She imagined it was more difficult for these particular interns - their resident treated them like numbers. It was impossible for them to learn if they weren't taught.
"Hi Nalah," Olivia gave the small girl a smile as she came to a stop in front of her bed, patting her foot.
"Hi Doctor Pope," the little girl grinned, laying the crayon she held in her hand on her bedside table and holding a picture up, "I'm colouring a lion for you."
"And you're doing a marvellous job!" Olivia extended her hand toward the girl's mother, firmly shaking with the woman and her husband. "Mr. and Mrs. Robinson."
"Doctor Pope, one of the nurses said you had some concern with Nalah's CT results." Mr. Robinson's brow furrowed with concern.
"Yes, I do. Doctor Grey?" Olivia glanced over her shoulder at the young redhead, watching as she flipped the chart open and began reading.
"Nalah Robinson, age 8. Presented yesterday with weakness, left abdominal pain, and increased heart rate."
"Current course of treatment?"
"She has been receiving morphine for pain management," Steve responded.
"What do her CT scans show?"
"They aren't in her file." Olivia tried not to smirk at the deer in the headlights look that Lexie gave her, frantically flipping through the chart to find the results.
"You're right - they aren't. What do her symptoms suggest, Doctor Grey?" Olivia could practically see the gears turning in Lexie's mind, trying to find the right answer.
"Splenic Sequestration."
"Spleen…What's that?" Mrs. Robinson glanced from doctor to doctor, confusion on her face.
"Doctor Mostow, would you care to explain to Mr. and Mrs. Robinson what splenic sequestration is?"
The boy nodded, pulling a small book from his pocket and flipping through the pages before he found the right one and began reading from his notes:
"Splenic sequestration is when haemoglobin builds in the spleen causing it to enlarge and potentially burst."
"This is very common in patients with sickle cell disease," Olivia provided, stuffing her hands in her pockets.
"Sickle cell disease?" Steve wondered aloud, his eyes widening as he glanced at the dark-haired little girl on the bed, her blue-green eyes still trained on her colouring page.
"Did you not read the chart?" Olivia demanded, turning her head toward Steve and glowering. Before the kid could respond, she turned to Lexie: "Course of treatment, Doctor Grey."
"Typically splenic sequestration is treated with a blood transfusion."
"Typically, yes. But that isn't the course of treatment I suggest." Lexie tilted her head in Olivia's direction before flipping to the front page of Nalah's chart, rereading the page.
"This isn't the first time she has presented with these symptoms."
"That is correct, Doctor Grey."
"Then you would suggest a splenectomy?"
"Correct! Would you care to explain what that is and why it would be a beneficial course of treatment as opposed to a blood transfusion?"
"A splenectomy means that we would remove Nalah's spleen."
"A surgery, then?" The concern in Nalah's mother's voice was clear to all in the room and Olivia took a breath, ready to ease her concerns.
"It's a fairly simple surgery that Doctor Pope has performed countless times and it would prevent Nalah from ever having to go through this again. Splenic sequestration is extremely life-threatening. Blood transfusions are like a band-aid in this situation. Eventually, band-aids fall off and need replaced. The surgery will solve this problem."
"Well said, Doctor Grey," Olivia smiled, impressed by the redhead. Her bedside manner was fantastic. How she had managed to learn that under Yang's tutelage, Olivia had no guess.
"We'll give you some time to discuss this, but we will need an answer soon."
"Do the surgery." Olivia nodded at Mr. Robinson's immediate response.
"Doctor Grey, will you prep Nalah? You're scrubbing in with me."
"Of course, Doctor Pope."
"I'll see you in surgery, Nalah." Olivia waved to the girl, walking out of the room to book the OR.
After booking the OR, Olivia made her way to her office. Settling in the large, leather chair, she pulled the small piece of paper from her pocket and began twisting it in her hand, her heart beating wildly at the thought of what she was about to do. Reaching for her phone, she placed the receiver against her ear and began dialling.
"Hello?" His voice came across the line, unsure.
"Hi." She meant to sound sexy, but even she had to admit that it came across flat. Nervous even.
"Is this who I think it is?" She knew he was teasing her. She could tell by the laughter in his voice.
"I don't know," she teased, "Who do you think it is?"
"Doctor Pope?"
"You don't know my name, do you?" she laughed out loud, leaning back in her chair and twisting the phone cord around her finger.
"No clue, Doctor Pope."
"Hm. That might be a problem."
"Well? What is your name?"
"I guess you'll have to take me out for coffee to find out."
"That I am more than willing to do. Tomorrow at noon okay with you?"
She glanced at her schedule quickly, making sure that she had nothing planned. "Yes."
"I'll see you tomorrow, Doctor Pope."
"Tomorrow." A smile graced her lips as they said their goodbyes and she placed the receiver back in its cradle. Standing, she couldn't stop her smile from growing as she walked toward the OR, depositing her lab coat along the way.
Scrubbing-in in record time, she entered the OR and slipped her hands into the gloves that a nurse offered. Placing her emotional shields in place at the sight of the normally olive-skinned little girl nearly matching the colour of the white gown she was wearing. Taking a deep breath, Olivia nodded toward her anaesthesiologist - signalling that she was ready to begin.
"Take a deep breath and count backwards from ten for me, Nalah," she gently probed as the male doctor placed an oxygen mask over the young girl's face and began to administer the anaesthesia. Once they had determined the little girl was unconscious, Olivia turned toward the nurse:
"Scalpel." Handing the slender tool the doctor, the nurse moved to the instrument tray, locating the tool that Olivia would need after making the initial incisions on the little girl's abdomen. Making three small cuts on Nalah's abdomen, Olivia handed the scalpel back to the nurse and took the offered laparoscope.
"Will she be okay?" Lexie wondered aloud as Olivia inserted the laparoscope through one of the cuts she had made.
"She'll make it through this surgery. She has a long, painful journey ahead, though. But she's a fighter."
"When I was prepping her, she kept speaking in another language." Olivia nodded, her attention on the monitor above Nalah's head that showed her what she was doing.
"Little Nalah here is originally from Greece. Mrs. Robinson has done a lot of missionary trips and when she was in Greece, she encountered Nalah - alone and living on the streets."
"Her name isn't -"
"No. It's Swahili. They didn't really bond until they were doing missionary work in Kenya a year after adopting Nalah. That's when she was given her name."
"Doctor Yang would never know this much about a patient."
"We have a lot of time to learn about our patients in peds and it makes the children and parents feel better about what we are doing to them. They trust us more." Olivia stuck her tongue out, her eyes still glued to the screen and making some slight adjustments with the laparoscope.
"I think I like peds," Lexie commented.
"Got it," Olivia announced, removing the laparoscope and handing it to the nurse. "You would do good in peds, Grey. You're on my service the rest of the week. I'll let Yang know."
"Thank you!"
"Can you close for me?"
"What?"
"You've been here for six months, Grey. Can you close for me?"
"Y-yes." Nodding, Olivia turned from the intern and left the OR, removing her gloves and quickly scrubbing out. On her way to the nurses' station, she grabbed Nalah's chart and made a few notes, adding her signature at the end before heading toward Nalah's room. Inside the large, private room, she found the little girl's parents, sitting in the uncomfortable chairs the hospital provided and waiting anxiously for news of their daughter.
"How is she?"
"She's fine," Olivia smiled, "There were no complications and she's being moved to recovery. They'll bring her back here the moment she wakes."
"Thank you, Doctor Pope!" Olivia hugged the taller woman back as she wrapped her arms around her.
"I'll be in to check on her later," she announced, turning and exiting the room. Pulling her cell from her pocket, she knew that she couldn't put off calling her mother any longer. Making her way to the cafe and purchasing a sandwich, she found a secluded table in a corner and dialled her mother's number.
"Hello?" Maya's voice was groggy, causing Olivia to glance at the watch on her wrist. It was a little past noon. Surely her mother wasn't still asleep.
"Maya." Olivia picked at the lettuce on her sandwich, barely nibbling the suddenly unappetising food.
"Libby." She didn't know how much more she could take of her mother sounding like she might break into tears with each phone call.
"I spoke with Doctor Shepherd. He agreed to do the surgery if you will fly out so he can conduct scans of his own."
"Thank you."
"I guess you can call me when your flight arrives. I can have someone pick you up." Olivia started to withdraw her phone from her ear, determined that their conversation was over. She couldn't possibly see what else they would have to say to one another.
"Liv?" She paused at her mother's voice.
"What?"
"I just wanted to say -"
"You don't get to apologise. Jake is dead. Whatever apology you have doesn't matter anymore." Withdrawing the phone from her ear, she pressed the red button to end the call and stood from the table. Suddenly, she wasn't so interested in eating after all.
/
"Good morning, Nalah," Olivia greeted the next morning, beaming down at the child. The little girl opened her eyes, looking up at her doctor.
"Good morning." She gave a toothy grin.
"How are you feeling this morning?" Olivia asked, pushing her gown up to reveal her abdomen and removing the gauze to get a look at the incisions.
"It hurts."
"The cuts?"
"Yes."
"That's normal. I'll get you some medicine for the pain. Doctor Grey, can you redress the incisions?" Lexie moved around Olivia, taking her place at the bed.
"Everything looks great, Mr. and Mrs Robinson," Olivia announced to the couple, "I should be able to discharge her in a couple days."
Leaving the room, Olivia headed to her office where she hung her lab coat on the back of her door and rummaged through her purse for her makeup - reapplying and fixing what she needed to. Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she gave herself a once-over in the glass of her office, satisfied with the way she looked. On the way to the door, she ran into Callie.
"Where are you going in a hurry?"
"To get lunch."
"You don't leave for lunch. If I didn't know better I'd say -" Callie's mouth dropped as she realised, thanks to the blush creeping up Olivia's neck, that she what she was about to say was right. "You and the walking sex god. Nice!"
"Oh move out of the way," Olivia tsked, shoving her way past Callie and practically running from the hospital. She practically had to run to the Starbucks across the street, praising Seattle's role as the birthplace of the chain which meant that there was one practically every couple hundred feet. Or at least it felt that way. Entering the building, she glanced around until she noticed Fitz sitting in a booth in the corner. Edging toward the booth, she took in the sight of him. His white button-down, navy slacks and tie practically screamed professionalism. That was when she realised that she didn't even know what he did.
"Hi," she nervously greeted, bitting her lip. He turned his startling blue eyes on her and she suddenly found it slightly more difficult to breathe.
"Hi to you, too," he grinned. God did he have a nice smile. She shook her head from the thought, sliding into the booth and taking the proffered cup of coffee he slid her way.
"I didn't add anything to it," he warned as she brought the cup to her lips, needing something to keep her preoccupied.
"Black is fine." She took a sip of the strong coffee, letting it warm her throat and stomach.
"So, Olivia," he waited for her to register that he had used her first name.
"How? Did you google me?" she giggled.
"My daughter has very good memory and she remembered you introducing yourself, by your full name, to my ex-wife."
"Impressive," Olivia smiled, taking another sip of her coffee before prodding him with questions, "Have you always lived in Seattle?"
"No. I grew up in California. I moved here when my mom offered a partnership in her law firm."
"You're an attorney?"
"Yes. I promise the sleazy stereotypes aren't true," he joked.
"That's good," she laughed, "Where did you go to school?"
"Harvard Law. You?"
"Harvard Medical."
"You're kidding," he shook his head, disbelief on his face.
"Crazy world, right? I'm originally from Maine. I was offered an attending position at Seattle Grace if I would agree to do my residency there. That's how I ended up in Seattle."
"I'm glad you did. End up here, that is." His grin was cute. She liked that about him.
"I have a daughter, Bekah. She's with her aunt right now. The two are closer than sisters." She carefully avoided mention of Jake or Laci as her sister-in-law.
"I bet she's as wonderful as you." Olivia's smile widened - it was rare to find someone who wasn't put off by the thought that she had a daughter. Refreshing even.
"Why did you become an attorney?"
"I like to argue. A lot." Her laugh drew the attention of a few nearby patrons, causing her to bring her hand to her mouth and attempt to stifle the sound. "Why did you become a surgeon?"
"You know how some people use drugs or whatever they can get their hands on to get that euphoric high?" He nodded and she could tell from the look in his eyes that he had no clue where she was going with this. At least he wasn't calling her crazy, though. "Having the power to save a life. Fixing a kid who is broken and giving them a life, giving their parents a life with them…That is my high."
"You're amazing, you know that?" She blushed, hard, and dropped her eyes to the table. It had been a long time since she had gotten those kinds of compliments from anyone.
"Damn," Olivia muttered as her pager went off. Pulling the pager from her pocket, she glanced at the screen and silently let loose a string of curses directed at Callie Torres.
"You have to go?"
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. Don't ever be sorry for saving lives." She swallowed, trying to fight back the tears in her eyes at his statement. Even Jake had had trouble accepting that her job took her away from him as often as it did.
"Call me?" She suggested as she stood.
"You can count on it."