--
When Miranda arrived at the NICU the next day, Addison was breezing through the ward, checking on patients as if nothing had happened. Her hair was glorious. Her make-up was immaculate. She was dressed smartly in black pants and a rust-coloured jacket. When she saw Miranda, she turned on the killer perky.
"Miranda!"
"Addison. You're in a good mood…"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"Oh, I don't know."
"You know, it's amazing what a good night's sleep will do for you. Thanks for seeing me home last night. I needed that."
"Yeah. So…"
"So, our patient? Right. Stable for now, I think. Vitals are holding steady from last night. Derek," she continued with a very slight sneer, "Has not been in to see him yet. Burke has, though. Says he's still waiting on a few test results, but should have more to tell the parents by lunchtime. Hanna got to change his diaper."
"Fabulous."
"Look, I have some other patients to check on. Can you stay here for a bit, page me if Burke or Shepherd get here?"
"Okay…"
"Fabulous. Later!"
She spotted Yang, over at the incubator. "Dr. Yang."
"Dr. Bailey! Just the person I was looking for."
"Oh?"
"Dr. Burke has a quadruple valve replacement scheduled this afternoon."
"Uh huh."
"He will almost certainly be wanting an intern to scrub in."
"Then he knows what he has to do about it, Yang. He has to find someone who is in possession of some interns, and he has to ask that person to assign him one."
"Oh, come on. You know what I'm getting at."
"I know that allowing you to favour Dr. Burke, just because the two of you are in a relationship, is not…"
"That's not why!"
"All right. I know that allowing you to favour Dr. Burke, just because your talented but inexperienced self thinks it wants to go into cardiothoracic, is not fair to you, or to the other interns, all of whom should be spending this first year experiencing the full diverse range of surgical patients who present in this hospital."
"But…"
"You were assigned to a patient, and it is your job to follow through with that patient, Dr. Yang. Same way Stevens got pulled back to cardiothoracic when her heart patient coded yesterday. You follow through with your patient."
"So I'm stuck in the baby ward until the kid dies?"
"Dr. Yang!"
"Sorry. Just…look, may I speak candidly for a moment?"
"I'm gonna hate this, aren't I?"
"She makes me nervous."
"Who does?"
"Dr. Montgomery. She's…"
"Intelligent? Dedicated? Passionate?"
"Maybe a little too passionate," Yang said. "This baby, she's like, obsessed. It's like Denny Duquette all over again."
"That's quite a statement."
"Look, between you and me? This baby's not going to make it. Either we open his head to put the shunt in, and he codes on the table. Or we wait and see, and the cerebrospinal fluid builds up in his brain, and he strokes out. He's not going to make it."
"It is not for us to say."
"Look, Dr. Montgomery? She's top-notch. I learned a lot, it was very nice… so, can I go back to Dr. Burke now?"
"No."
"Dr. Bailey!"
She had to talk to Callie. But who knew, when she dipped her toe into the scary realm of friendship, that it would involve guarding babies from exes and interns? She was stuck in the NICU, for now.
--
When Shepherd arrived, she was alone with the baby. Yang had gone to chase down the labs for Burke, and the parents were breakfasting in the cafeteria.
"Dr. Bailey. Just the person I was looking for."
"Is that so? I can't sign the baby off to you, Shepherd."
"That's not why I'm here. Look, this is a little awkward for me."
"Uh huh."
"I was hoping you could talk to Addison."
"About?"
"What do you think?"
Miranda sighed. "Are we doing this again? Didn't we do this already?"
"He's going to stroke out, Miranda."
"He'll code on the table, Derek."
"He's on a ventilator and a pacemaker. He'll survive a code. But it won't do him much good if he has no brain function."
"Not my call."
"Damn it! Why is she being so stubborn about this?"
"Why are you?"
He stopped for a second. "She makes it personal. Why does she always have to make it personal?"
"Personal, how?"
"She gets involved. She identifies. You know this is going to end badly."
"And you know it too, Shepherd. Answer my question. Why do you care so much?"
"Because my way is the only way we'll have the slightest chance of saving him."
"And if he dies on the table?"
"It will be over swiftly. For her, and for that poor family."
Miranda sighed. "The man shows unexpected depth."
"What's that supposed to mean? Is she making me the bad guy? In your new little girl-pact, is she making me the bad guy?"
"You broke her heart, then you moved on."
"She broke my heart too, you know."
"But you moved on. She hasn't yet."
"But…"
"Shut it, McDreamy. I'm explaining it to you. You get that she's hurting. Points to you for that. But what you haven't got yet? What makes me the friend and you the asshole? We're both seeing the same thing here. And me? I'm concerned. You? You're annoyed."
--