A/N: Sorry for the late (and not so great) update. Life has been really busy. This is kind of a filler chapter, the good stuff is still yet to come.
The "messed up leg" turned out to be a game of fetch gone horribly wrong. From what Stephanie could make out through the sobbing mother's tears the little boy had been playing with the family dog when the dog wouldn't release the stick. The boy then hit the dog, and in return got his left leg torn to shreds.
In the midst of cleaning the wound, paging Torres, and trying to decide if she should go with sutures or a skin graft, Stephanie found that she had no time to worry about what April was doing in the hospital on her day off.
Letting her mind focus solely on the tattered limb in front of her was actually a relief. For weeks all she had been able to think about was the new Mrs. Dr. Avery. It was strange in a way, her anger with Jackson had come and gone. When she saw him in the hallways now it was easy to walk past without a second glance, even when he'd try to say hello.
But April was a different story. Technically she hadn't done anything to Stephanie. She hadn't asked Jackson to stand up at her wedding and declare his love for her. She'd merely answered honestly when he asked if she loved him too. And on some level Stephanie respected her for that, for not marrying Matthew when she knew she loved someone else, and for being so sure of it that she was willing to risk ruining all of her relationships with family and friends for a chance at true love. It was like something out of one of the romance novels she kept stashed under her bed for nights she couldn't fall asleep.
She just wished the beautiful woman who overcame her inner demons and won the guy had been her.
"Alright," Stephanie said to the mother after a few moments, "I'm going to start sewing your son's leg while we wait for the orthopedic surgeon, so if you'll excuse me for a moment I'll be right back."
The sobbing woman seemed to nod her head in understanding as Stephanie slipped out of the area to get a suture kit, nearly crashing into Leah.
"Jeez, what happened to him?" Leah asked, craning her neck to get a glimpse of Stephanie's patient through the curtains.
"He decided to hit the family dog, and the family dog didn't like that very much," Stephanie replied with a sigh. She frowned, realizing that Leah was carrying her belongings with her, "Are you leaving?"
"Yeah," Leah rolled her eyes, "Avery heard me coughing and told me that if I didn't go home she'd get Hunt involved and tell him I'm risking patients' well being by being sick."
"What is she even doing here?" Stephanie asked, headed towards the supply closet.
"Meeting up with the other Dr. Avery for lunch apparently."
"Of course she is."
Leah rolled her eyes in solidarity, stopping in front of the supply closet with Stephanie and sighing,
"They should have a rule about coming in on your day off. Like, you shouldn't be able to do it if you're just going to come harass other doctors who are actually trying to work."
"I wish,"Stephanie laughed, "Anyways I need to grab a suture kit and get back to my patient. I'll see you back at the apartment tonight?"
"Okay, see you later."
As Leah continued down the hallway in the direction of the locker room Stephanie turned and walked into the supply closet, not yet noticing the sound of someone crying quietly inside.